“EVOLUTION OF EMERGENCY ARBITRATION IN INDIA: FROM JUDICIAL SKEPTICISM TO STATUTORY RECOGNITION”
AUTHOR – JEESHANT AGRAWAL* & ANUJ SETHI**
* STUDENT AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY
** ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT LAW COLLEGE DEHRADUN, UTTARANCHAL UNIVERSITY
BEST CITATION – JEESHANT AGRAWAL & ANUJ SETHI, “EVOLUTION OF EMERGENCY ARBITRATION IN INDIA: FROM JUDICIAL SKEPTICISM TO STATUTORY RECOGNITION”, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (8) OF 2026, PG. 599-607, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344
Abstract
Emergency arbitration is one of the particularities which are needed to preserve the status quo of a commercial dispute which includes a cross-border transaction and time is critical in such a situation. Emergency arbitration is the quickest and most efficient method when an interim relief is required urgently,[1] as it is almost suicidal to have the courts wait. In India, however, the development of what the notion of emergency arbitration has been has been difficult and complex. Indian courts at first sight appeared to be extremely sceptical of the idea[2] that an emergency arbitration would be effective partly due to the fact that the law did not directly provide that an arbitrator can be brought in as an emergency measure. In addition, they believed that Section 9 was the sole hub of interim orders,[3] thus they could not regard an emergency arbitrator as the approachable authority of giving interlocutory relief in the presence of a full arbitral tribunal. Indian court judgments and rules in SIAC, ICC, and LCIA (with emergency arbitrators) were not paired until SIAC, ICC, and LCIA all tackled the question of emergency arbitrators in 2021 in the case Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC v. Future Retail Ltd. Specifically the decision that concluded the practices of enforcing awards made by emergency arbitrators[4] should be governed by Section 17(2) was groundbreaking, indicating that the judicial branch holds that the parties should have autonomy in their decision-making and the arbitration regulations. As India continues to gain momentum worldwide and establish legal frameworks to do so, the resolution would argue that statute law has to formally acknowledge the existence of the emergency arbitration, establish a defined regime of performance, and reinforce institutions, so that India becomes an effective pro-arbitration jurisdiction that will be able to handle international business.
[1] Gary B. Born, International Commercial Arbitration (3rd ed., 2021).
[2] Ajar Rab, “Emergency Arbitration in India: The Changing Judicial Landscape,” (2019) 8 Indian J. Arb. L. 45.
[3] Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, §9.
[4] Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC v. Future Retail Ltd., (2021) 4 SCC 409.