This document summarizes a Supreme Court of India judgement regarding the appointment of an arbitrator in a dispute between Reliance Industries Ltd., other petroleum companies, and the Union of India.
The dispute arose from differences in interpreting provisions of a Production Sharing Contract regarding an offshore oil block. Reliance invoked arbitration and each party appointed a retired Chief Justice of India as an arbitrator. However, the two arbitrators could not agree on a third arbitrator.
The Supreme Court analyzed whether this was an international commercial arbitration under Indian law. It also considered arguments regarding appointing an arbitrator of neutral nationality versus an Indian national. Ultimately, the Court appointed a retired Chief Justice of Australia, James Spigelman
Gearoid Carey is co-author (with Michael Collins SC) of the Irish Chapter of the ICCA Handbook on Commercial Arbitration. The handbook contains authoritative country reports prepared by leading arbitrators, academics and practitioners on national arbitral practice, as well as the relevant national legislation.
Writ Petition Islamabad High Court TAPI Operations AgreementKamran Ali
There are loop holes in the manner TAPI Project is currently being handled. The writer was a member of TAPI TWG group during 2010 and 2011 and tried to keep the project on Track by sharing the knowledge with less informed members. However things do not always go the way they are planned. Currently the writer has objected on the contents of TAPI Operations Agreement and the case is pending in Islamabad High Court. The decision of Islamabad High Court will be uploaded as and when available.
Gearoid Carey is co-author (with Michael Collins SC) of the Irish Chapter of the ICCA Handbook on Commercial Arbitration. The handbook contains authoritative country reports prepared by leading arbitrators, academics and practitioners on national arbitral practice, as well as the relevant national legislation.
Writ Petition Islamabad High Court TAPI Operations AgreementKamran Ali
There are loop holes in the manner TAPI Project is currently being handled. The writer was a member of TAPI TWG group during 2010 and 2011 and tried to keep the project on Track by sharing the knowledge with less informed members. However things do not always go the way they are planned. Currently the writer has objected on the contents of TAPI Operations Agreement and the case is pending in Islamabad High Court. The decision of Islamabad High Court will be uploaded as and when available.
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There may be multiple routes available for achieving one objective/goal. Some of them are constructive & some are destructive. Without doubt & without debate, the Governed should note that it carries the sole responsibility to secure their just governance in sync with the objective of law. Thus beckoning, enlightening & securing the constructive route of governance is its responsibility. Not only it has the onus to discover that constructive route but also it has to traverse the same & assert for it. Having acted itself, it also has the onus to secure that the Governor stays on the course.
SC Judgement - Appointment Of Third ArbitratorFlame Of Truth
The SC judgement by Justice S S Nijjar in the matter between Reliance Industries Ltd and others versus Union of India, arbitration petition filed by Reliance for appointment of the third and the presiding arbitrator.
Nigerian People Vs ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC [2015] EWHC HT-2015-000241 & HT-2015...Richard Levicki
See Para 117 for the cowardly we can do what we want, High Court again refuses to hold UK parent companies for account as Shell blocks more than 40,000 Nigerians from holding it to account for oil spills in the English courts yesterday. Our courts have become corporate protectors and mass human rights abuse facilitators. These judgements must be challenged.
MINING INDUSTRY: A critical analysis through application of Rule 12(10) of MC...Biswajit Das
There may be multiple routes available for achieving one objective/goal. Some of them are constructive & some are destructive. Without doubt & without debate, the Governed should note that it carries the sole responsibility to secure their just governance in sync with the objective of law. Thus beckoning, enlightening & securing the constructive route of governance is its responsibility. Not only it has the onus to discover that constructive route but also it has to traverse the same & assert for it. Having acted itself, it also has the onus to secure that the Governor stays on the course.
SC Judgement - Appointment Of Third ArbitratorFlame Of Truth
The SC judgement by Justice S S Nijjar in the matter between Reliance Industries Ltd and others versus Union of India, arbitration petition filed by Reliance for appointment of the third and the presiding arbitrator.
Mukesh Ambani awarded Othmer Gold Medal for Entrepreneurial LeadershipFlame Of Truth
Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of
Reliance Industries Limited, was conferred the prestigious Othmer Gold Medal for his entrepreneurial leadership that has resulted in the expansion of India’s petroleum refining
industry, creation of the Jamnagar Refinery in Gujarat – the largest grassroots petroleum refinery in the world, and path-breaking initiatives in oil and gas exploration...
India's largest private sector company, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), is seeking the best and the brightest young women and men for an exciting career as De-risking & Security professionals with Reliance Global Corporate Security...
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30 year sovereign & quasi-sovereign - feb 2015Flame Of Truth
RIL is the only private corporate issuer of 30 years bonds in Asia for over a decade and the money was raised at the lowest ever coupon. This has to be seen in the context of other 30 year issuers from Asia being only sovereigns like the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Indonesia and quasi-sovereigns like China's CNOOC, Sinopec...
RIL achieved a turnover of Rs 96,330 crore ($ 15.3 billion) for the quarter ended 31st December 2014, a decrease of 20.4%, as compared to Rs 121,077 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Sharp Y-o-Y fall in benchmark oil price of 30% was the key factor for the decline in revenue. Exports from India were lower by 21.5% at Rs 58,507 crore ($ 9.3 billion) as against Rs 74,495 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year...
'...the concerned authorities should...bring it to the notice of the people at large that there is no reason for them to fear [Wi-Fi mobile towers]...'
Reliance Foundation and VFAs (village level producer institutions) celebrated the Sports Day 2014 together with joy and positive spirit. Sports Day 2014’s objective is to bring people together, play and enhance bonding & relationship both within and across the communities. 4,442 people including women and children from 410 VFAs across 26 clusters participated in various sports and games...
Right Kind of Information from the Right Source to the Right People at Right Time. Multi-channel quality information / knowledge provider on rural prosperity so rural communities enable them to take right decisions...
Reliance Foundation Information Services - Dissemination ModesFlame Of Truth
Reliance Foundation uses multiple information dissemination modes such as text sms, voice sms, helpline numbers, whatsapp, audio conferences, phone-in programmes on local cable TV channels, TV scroll / ticker / flash, mobile units, video modules to Farmers, Fisher Folk, Livestock owners, Micro-enterprenuers, Rural Youth, Students, Extension Officials, Patients, etc
Gujarat High Court judgment on Reliance Jio 4G towerFlame Of Truth
Gujarat high court on Friday directed the state government and the Centre to create public awareness that they have no reason to fear the emission of radio active waves from mobile tower. The HC ordered so with observation that the use of the mobile phone, AM Radio, FM Radio etc. is more harmful to the human beings compared to the power emission from the Base Transceiver Stations and that of mobile towers...
Counter Affidavit by Respondent 2 - Directorate General of HydrocarbonFlame Of Truth
The DGH too has filed a similar counter-affidavit. The ministry said that all necessary efforts were made to resolve the matter amicably and various meetings had been conducted since ONGC brought the matter to its notice. The steps taken by the ministry and DGH lead to RIL agreeing to appointment of an independent technical agency to ascertain connectivity of reservoirs in their blocks.
Counter Affidavit by Respondent 1 - Ministry of Petroleum and Natural GasFlame Of Truth
Alleging Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) of making “frivolous allegations” against the government, the petroleum ministry has told the Delhi high court that the state-owned firm woke up from slumber to allege that its gas may be flowing out of wells of Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) KG-D6 fields.
Aided by #RelianceFoundation villagers of a remote village in Balangir district of Odisha construct a bridge across the river Banjhinala by themselves. A total of 12 villages that used to get cut off from the mainstream during rainy season will benefit from this wooden bridge. The villages call it the 'Bridge to Prosperity'
According to Goldman Sachs report, According to our
projections, Indian annual energy imports could rise to US$230 billion by FY23
from US$120 billion currently, driven by economic growth, greater
industrialization and urbanization...
INDIA HAS NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE | Facts You Didn't Know About KG-D6Flame Of Truth
Deep water exploration for oil and gas is a complex science and a risky business. It involves technology and extreme engineering of the kind that India has not seen before. It requires staggering amounts of risk capital. Exploration success rate is as low as one in ten and reservoir surprises can occur at any stage of development and production.
People without even a fleeting understanding of the sector have touched off a debate over the KG-D6 block to suggest that Reliance Industries is making windfall profits. This compilation is an attempt to inform the debate with facts so that rhetoric and illogic don’t drown out the serious issue of India’s energy security...
Oil and Gas Industry | What went wrong? | A presentation by AOGOFlame Of Truth
India’s exploration policy has to be in sync with the perception that India’s geological Prospectivity is poor to moderate. Geology of the country cannot be changed but Government Policy and its implementation can ensure extensive appraisal and exploration. Focus of the Government should be on providing appropriate policy and an enabling operating environment to make the sector attractive for investors
Search Engine Marketing - Competitor and Keyword researchETMARK ACADEMY
Over 2 Trillion searches are made per day in Google search, which means there are more than 2 Trillion visits happening across the websites of the world wide web.
People search various questions, phrases or words. But some words and phrases are searched
more often than others.
For example, the words, ‘running shoes’ are searched more often than ‘best road running
shoes for men’
These words or phrases which people use to search on Google are called Keywords.
Some keywords are searched more often than others. Number of times a keyword is searched
for in a month is called keyword volume.
Some keywords have more relevant results than others. For the phrase “running shoes” we
get more than 80M relevant results, whereas for “best road running shoes for men” we get
only 8.
The former keyword ‘running shoes’ has way more competition from popular websites to
new and small blogs, whereas the latter keyword doesn’t have that much competition. This
search competition for a keyword is called search difficulty of a keyword or keyword
difficulty.
In other words, if the keyword difficulty is ‘low’ or ‘easy’, there won’t be any competition
and if you target such keywords on your site, you can easily rank on the front page of Google.
Some keywords are searched for, just to know or to learn some information about something,
that’s their search intention. For example, “What shoe size should I choose?” or “How to pick
the right shoe size?”
These keywords which are searched just to know about stuff are called informational
keywords. Typically people who are searching this type of keywords are top of a Conversion
funnel.
Conversion funnel is the journey that search visitors go through on their way to an email
subscription or a premium subscription to the services you offer or a purchase of products
you sell or recommend using your referral link.
For some buyers, research is the most important part when they have to buy a product.
Depending on that, their journey either widens or narrows down. These types of buyers are
Researchers and they spend more time with informational keywords.
Conversion is the action you want from your search visitors. Number of conversions that you
get for every 100 search visitors is called Conversion rate.
People who are at different stages of a conversion funnel use different types of keywords.
10 Video Ideas Any Business Can Make RIGHT NOW!
You'll never draw a blank again on what kind of video to make for your business. Go beyond the basic categories and truly reimagine a brand new advanced way to brainstorm video content creation. During this masterclass you'll be challenged to think creatively and outside of the box and view your videos through lenses you may have never thought of previously. It's guaranteed that you'll leave with more than 10 video ideas, but I like to under-promise and over-deliver. Don't miss this session.
Key Takeaways:
How to use the Video Matrix
How to use additional "Lenses"
Where to source original video ideas
SEO as the Backbone of Digital MarketingFelipe Bazon
In this talk Felipe Bazon will share how him and his team at Hedgehog Digital share our journey of making C-Levels alike, specially CMOS realize that SEO is the backbone of digital marketing by showing how SEO can contribute to brand awareness, reputation and authority and above all how to use SEO to create more robust global marketing strategies.
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.\
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
5 big bets to drive growth in 2024 without one additional marketing dollar AND how to adapt to the biggest shifting eCommerce trend- AI.
1) Romance Your Customers - Retention
2) ‘Alternative’ Lead Gen - Advocacy
3) The Beautiful Basics - Conversion Rate Optimization
4) Land that Bottom Line - Profitability
5) Roll the Dice - New Business Models
Mastering Multi-Touchpoint Content Strategy: Navigate Fragmented User JourneysSearch Engine Journal
Digital platforms are constantly multiplying, and with that, user engagement is becoming more intricate and fragmented.
So how do you effectively navigate distributing and tailoring your content across these various touchpoints?
Watch this webinar as we dive into the evolving landscape of content strategy tailored for today's fragmented user journeys. Understanding how to deliver your content to your users is more crucial than ever, and we’ll provide actionable tips for navigating these intricate challenges.
You’ll learn:
- How today’s users engage with content across various channels and devices.
- The latest methodologies for identifying and addressing content gaps to keep your content strategy proactive and relevant.
- What digital shelf space is and how your content strategy needs to pivot.
With Wayne Cichanski, we’ll explore innovative strategies to map out and meet the diverse needs of your audience, ensuring every piece of content resonates and connects, regardless of where or how it is consumed.
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
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Monthly Social Media News Update May 2024Andy Lambert
TL;DR. These are the three themes that stood out to us over the course of last month.
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2️⃣ Instagram’s new algorithm and latest guidance will help us maintain organic growth. Instagram continues to evolve, but Reels remains the most crucial tool for growth.
3️⃣ Collaboration will help us unlock growth. Who we work with will define how fast we grow. Meta continues to evolve their Creator Marketplace and now TikTok are beginning to push ‘collabs’ more too.
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Amid these operational challenges, customer data has emerged as an important strategy. By focusing on personalization and enhancing customer experience from historical behavior, businesses can deliver improved website and brand experienced, better product recommendations, optimal promotions, and content to meet individual preferences. Better data analytics can also help in effectively creating marketing campaigns, improving customer retention, and driving product development and inventory management.
Innovative formats such as social commerce and live shopping are beginning to impact the digital commerce landscape, offering new ways to engage with customers and drive sales, and may provide opportunity for brands that have been priced out or seen a downturn with post-pandemic shopping behavior. Social commerce integrates shopping experiences directly into social media platforms, tapping into the massive user bases of these networks to increase reach and engagement. Live shopping, on the other hand, combines entertainment and real-time interaction, providing a dynamic platform for showcasing products and encouraging immediate purchases. These innovations not only enhance customer engagement but also provide valuable data for businesses to refine their strategies and deliver superior shopping experiences.
The e-commerce sector is evolving rapidly, and businesses that effectively manage operational challenges and implement innovative strategies are best positioned for long-term success.
Digital Money Maker Club – von Gunnar Kessler digital.focsh890
Title One is a comprehensive examination of the impact of digital technologies on
modern society. In a world where technology continues to advance rapidly, this article delves into the nuances and complexities of the digital age, exploring Its implications across various sectors and aspects of life.
Financial curveballs sent many American families reeling in 2023. Household budgets were squeezed by rising interest rates, surging prices on everyday goods, and a stagnating housing market. Consumers were feeling strapped. That sentiment, however, appears to be waning. The question is, to what extent?
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Come learn how YOU can Animate and Illuminate the World with Generative AI's Explosive Power. Come sit in the driver's seat and learn to harness this great technology.
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Key Takeaways:
Attendees will learn about LLM platforms, like ChatGPT, and how they work, with preset examples and real time interactions with the platform. Attendees will learn about other AI platforms that are creating graphic design elements at the push of a button...pre-set examples and real-time interactions.Attendees will discuss the pros & cons of AI in marketing + branding and share their perspectives with one another. Attendees will learn about the cost savings and the time savings associated with using AI, should they choose to.
Justice S S Nijjar judgment 31 march 14 (abridged)
1. REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
ARBITRATIONPETITIONNO.27OF2013*
Reliance Industries Ltd. & Ors. … Petitioners
Versus
Union of India
….Respondent
JUDGEMENT (ABRIDGED BY PETITIONER)
4. In 1999, UOI announced a policy-New Exploration and Licensing Policy
(hereinafter referred to as “NELP”). Under NELP, certain blocks of
hydrocarbon reserves were offered for exploration, development and
production to private contractors under the agreements which were
in the nature of Production Sharing Contract. One of the said blocks was
Block KG-DWN-98/3 (“Block KG-D6”). The joint bid made by the
Petitioners No.1 and 2 for the Block KG-D6 was accepted by the UOI.
Thereafter on 12
th
April,
Para Identities have been maintained for briefing purposes only
2
Page 2
2. 2000, Production Sharing Contract (hereinafter referred to as „PSC‟)
was executed between the Petitioners No.1 and 2 as Contractor on
one side and UOI on the other. The Arbitration Agreement in the PSC is
contained in Article 33. Relevant facts thereof, is in the following
words:
33.3 Subject to the provisions of this Contract, the Parties hereby
agree that any controversy, difference, disagreement or claim for
damages, compensation or otherwise (hereinafter in this Clause
referred to as a "dispute") arising between the Parties, which
cannot be settled amicably within ninety (90) days after the
dispute arises, may (except for those referred to in Article 33.2,
which may be referred to a sole expert) be submitted to an
arbitral tribunal for final decision as hereinafter provided.
33.4 The arbitral tribunal shall consist of three arbitrators. Each
Party to the dispute shall appoint one arbitrator and the
Party or Parties shall so advise the other Parties. The two
arbitrators appointed by the Parties shall appoint the third
arbitrator.
33.5 Any Party may, after appointing an arbitrator,
request the other Party(ies) in writing to appoint the second
arbitrator. If such
3
Page 3
3. other Party fails to appoint an arbitrator within thirty (30) days of
receipt of the written request to do so, such arbitrator may, at the
request of the first Party, be appointed by the Chief Justice of India
or by a person authorised by him within thirty (30) days of the
date of receipt of such request, from amongst persons who are
not nationals of the country of any of the Parties to the arbitration
proceedings.
6. It appears that in the financial year 2010-2011, differences relating
to the scope and interpretation of the provisions of the PSC arose
between the Petitioners and Respondent after the publication of some
media reports. These reports, according to the Petitioners, suggested
that the Respondent was planning to disallow cost recovery
of the expenditures incurred by the Contractor since the productions
levels from the gas fields had fallen drastically. According to the
Petitioners, all the disagreements and differences that have arisen
between them and UOI will inevitably lead to serious
5
Page 5
4. problems in the working of the PSC. To resolve this dispute, lengthy
correspondence ensued between Petitioner No.1 and the
officers/representatives of Respondent No.1.
8. On 23
rd
November, 2011, Petitioner No.1 (RIL), through its
Advocates, served upon the Respondent a notice invoking arbitration, in
accordance with the arbitration agreement contained in Article 33 of
the PSC. In this letter, Petitioner no.1 also nominated Mr. Justice
S.P. Bharucha, former Chief Justice of India, as its arbitrator
and called upon the Respondent to nominate its arbitrator
13. On 16
th
April, 2012, Petitioners No.1 & 2 filed
Arbitration Petition No. 8 of 2012 under Section
11(6) of the Arbitration Act, 1996 before this Court (hereinafter referred
to as “A.P. No. 8”), seeking constitution of Arbitral Tribunal in
terms of Article 33.5 of the PSC
15. In its letter dated 5
th
July, 2012, the Respondent makes a reference
to the letter dated 2
nd
May, 2012 addressed to Contractors of the block
KG-DWN-98/3 and to the letter dated 8
th
June, 2012 written by the
Solicitors on behalf of Petitioner No.1 and stated that the Ministry
had nominated Mr. Justice V.N.Khare, former Chief Justice of India
as the arbitrator on behalf of the Government of India.
16. On 12
th
July, 2013, Petitioner No.1 addressed a letter to Mr.
Justice S.P. Bharucha and Mr. Justice V.N. Khare, requesting them to
nominate the third arbitrator. On 1
st
August, 2013, Mr. Justice
5. Bharucha wrote a letter to Petitioner No.1, inter alia, as follows:
“Undoubtedly, there has been a delay in the appointment of a
third arbitrator. I had made a suggestion to my fellow arbitrator,
which was not acceptable to him. I asked him to make a
counter suggestion which he said he would do. I have not heard
any counter suggestion as yet.
In the circumstances, you must consider whether the court
should be approached for the appointment of a third arbitrator.”
17. It was in these circumstances that the present arbitration petition
came to be filed under Section
11(6) of the Arbitration Act, 1996.
Submissions:
18. I have heard elaborate arguments, and perused the written
submissions submitted by the learned senior counsel appearing for the
parties.
19. Mr. Harish N. Salve, learned senior counsel, appearing for the
Petitionershas made the following submissions:
I. Re: InternationalCommercialArbitration
20. It was submitted that the present arbitral proceedings relate to an
International Commercial Arbitration, as defined under Section 2 (1) (f)
of the Arbitration Act, 1996. Ld. senior counsel pointed out that two out
of the four parties to the arbitration agreement are based outside
India; Petitioner No. 2 being a U.K. based company and Petitioner
No.3 being based in Canada. Substantiating this submission, it was
pointed out by Mr. Salve that each of the Petitioners is a party to
the PSC, as
defined under Article 28.1 of PSC; and each of the Petitioners comprise
6. a “Contractor”,under Article 2 of PSC.
IV. Re: ArbitratorofNeutralNationality
26. Mr. Salve submitted that since the arbitration is an international one,
this court, in accordance with the established international
practise, should consider appointing an arbitrator of a nationality
other than the nationalities of the parties. In this context, it was
pointed out that the statute expressly obligates the Court to
examine the issue of nationality of the arbitrator vis-à-vis the
nationality of the parties.
46. I have considered the submissions made by the
learned senior counsel for the parties.
47. I am not inclined to accept the submissions made by Mr. Anil B.
Divan, learned senior counsel appearing on behalf of the UOI. Initially,
Arbitration Petition No.8 was filed by Reliance Industries Limited–
RIL (Petitioner No.1) and Niko (Petitioner No.2). In paragraph 6 of the
arbitration petition, it was specifically averred as follows:-
“The Respondent by its letter dated 8
th
August,
2011, granted its approval to Petitioner No.1 to assign 30% of
its Participating Interest under the PSC to BP, thereby also
making BP a partner in the Block KG-D6. …….”
Therefore, it is apparent that reference to arbitration was sought on
behalf of the three partners to the PSC.
68. In any event, the neutrality of an arbitrator is assured by Section
11(1) of the Arbitration Act,
1996, which provides that a person of any nationality may be
7. an arbitrator, unless otherwise
agreed by the parties. There is no agreement between the
parties in this case that even a third arbitrator must necessarily be an
Indian national. In fact, Section 11(9) of the Arbitration Act, 1996
specifically empowers the CJI to appoint an arbitrator of a
nationality other than the nationality of the parties involved in the
litigation. Therefore, I am unable to accept the submission of Mr.
Anil Divan that it would not be permissible under the Arbitration Act,
1996 to appoint the third arbitrator of any nationality other than Indian.
Merely because the two arbitrators nominated by the parties are
Indian would not ipso facto lead to the conclusion that the parties
had ruled out the appointment of the third arbitrator from a neutral
nationality. In this case, both the arbitrators had been appointed by
the parties, therefore, the condition precedent for appointing an
arbitrator, from amongst persons, who are not nationals of the country
of any of the parties to the arbitration proceedings, had not even arisen.
73. I must emphasise here that the trend of the third
arbitrator/presiding officer of a neutral nationality being appointed is
now more or less universally accepted under the Arbitration Acts and
Arbitration Rules in different jurisdictions.
74. In the present case, Article 33(9) of the PSC adopts the UNCITRAL
Rules for the arbitration agreement under Article 39. The
applicable UNCITRAL Rules at the time when the arbitration
agreement was signed were the 1976 Rules.
75. The aforesaid Rules have been literally paraphrased in
8. Section 11(9) of the Arbitration Act,
1996. Rule 4 of UNCITRAL states that in making the appointment, the
appointing authority shall have regard to such consideration as are
likely to secure appointment of an independent and impartial
arbitrator. Superimposed on those two conditions is a provision that the
appointing authority shall take into account, as well, the advisability of
arbitrator of a nationality other than the nationalities of the parties.
These rules in my opinion are almost parallel to Article 33(5) of the
PSC.
76. Mr. Anil Divan had, however, raised serious doubts about the
impartiality of the third arbitrator due to the omnipresence of British
Petroleum all over the world. I am of the considered opinion that the
apprehension expressed by the learned senior counsel is imaginary
and illusory. Such a proposition cannot possibly be accepted as a
general practice
for the appointment of Chairman/Presiding Officer/Third Arbitrator
guided by the principle consideration that there must not only be
the neutrality, but appearance of neutrality of the third arbitrator. In
that view of the matter, I have no hesitation in rejecting this
submission of Mr. Divan that only an Indian National can be appointed
as the third arbitrator.
78. Keeping in view the aforesaid principles, I have examined the
submissions of Mr. Divan and Mr. Salve on the issue with regard
to the neutrality, impartiality and independence of the third
arbitrator. As held earlier, the apprehension expressed by the
Respondent Union of India seems to be imaginary and illusory. Whatever
9. is being said about the influence/presence of British Petroleum in other
jurisdictions would apply equally to the Union of India, if the third
arbitrator is an Indian national, within the Indian jurisdiction.
79. The apprehension expressed by Mr. Divan that if a foreign national is
appointed as a third arbitrator, the Tribunal would be at a
disadvantage as all applicable laws are Indian, in my opinion,
overlooks the fact that the two arbitrators already appointed are
Former Chief Justices of India and can be very safely relied upon to
advise the third arbitrator of any legal position, which is peculiar to
India.
80. At this stage, normally the matter ought to be remitted back to
the two arbitrators appointed by the parties to choose the third
arbitrator on the basis of the observations made in the judgment.
However, given the sharp difference of opinion between the two
arbitrators, I deem it appropriate to perform the task of appointing the
third arbitrator in this Court itself. Therefore, I had requested the
learned senior counsel for the parties to supply a list of eminent
individuals one of whom could be appointed as the third arbitrator.
Although two lists have been duly supplied by the learned counsel for
the parties, I am of the opinion, in the peculiar facts and circumstances
of this case, it would be appropriate if an individual not named by
any of the parties is appointed as the third arbitrator. I have
discretely conducted a survey to find a suitable third arbitrator who
is not a National of any of the parties involved in the dispute.
81. Upon due consideration, I hereby appoint
Honourable James Spigelman AC QC, former Chief
Justice and Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales, Australia as
10. the third Arbitrator who shall act as the Chairman of the Arbitral
Tribunal. The E- mail address which has been supplied to this Court
is as follows:
spigel@bigpond.net.au
82. In view of the considerable delay, the Arbitral Tribunal is
requested to enter upon the reference at the earliest and to
render the award as expeditiously as possible.
83. The Arbitration Petition is allowed in the aforesaid terms. No costs.
……………………………J.
[Surinder Singh Nijjar]
New Delhi; March31,
2014.
11. ITEM NO.1A COURT NO.6 SECTION XVIA
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD
OF PROCEEDINGS
ARBITRATION PETITION NO. 27 OF 2013
RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LTD. & ORS. Petitioner(s) VERSUS
U.O.I. Respondent(s)
Date: 31/03/2014 This Petition was called on for
pronouncement of judgment today.
For Petitioner(s)
M/S. Parekh & Co., Advs.
For Respondent(s)
Mr. Shailendra Swarup, Adv.
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar pronounced the
judgment.
The petition is allowed in terms of the signed
reportable judgment.
[Nidhi Ahuja] [Indu Bala Kapur] Court
Master Court Master
[Signed reportable judgment is placed on the file.]
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