Fast track courts for arbitration

The NDA government plans to set up special fast-track courts to deal with arbitration cases and for speedy resolution of commercial disputes. An ordinance was issued bringing relevant amendments to the Arbitration and Reconciliation Act, making it mandatory for a judge presiding over commercial disputes to settle cases in nine months.
India was losing out on commercial dispute cases as it sometimes took as long as 20 years for cases to be settled.Sources said setting up dedicated commercial courts under each high court would help speedy disposal of cases and help make India the hub of arbitration. Today , MNCs prefer destinations like Singapore for early resolution of their disputes in India.
The amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, in the form of an ordinance, aimed at sending a message that settling commercial disputes in India will no longer be a time-consuming affair, at the same time would bind many MNCs filing arbitration cases out of India to settle within India as the cause of action is here. With the uncertainty over functioning of Parliament and the bottlenecks it has created in passage of key bills, the government has adopted the ordinance route, including bringing in amendments to the Land Acquisition Act.