Date:25/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/07/25/stories/2005072515990300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Establish arbitration wing, CAs told

Staff Reporter

MADURAI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievance, Law and Justice headed by E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan will submit its report on the proposed recommendations to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act (Amendment) Bill 2004 to the Government on July 27.

The amendment bill was referred to the committee for its recommendations. The bill seeks to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 to remove certain shortcomings and speed up arbitrations under the Act.

Arbitration and conciliation formed an important component of international trade. It also aimed at promoting a mechanism to settle disputes then and there. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (Amendment) Bill 2004 proposed to introduce a new definition of domestic arbitration.

Addressing members of the Madurai branch of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of India on July 19, Mr. Natchiappan said that the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 was as such "good but the practice was bad." He opined that chartered accountants were competent to appear for arbitration and that large institutions should have their own arbitrators.

He urged the chartered accountants to establish their own arbitration wing. "It is time to make avenues for professional institutions to have their own arbitration," he said, and added that one should ponder the advantages of a retired judge getting enrolled as bar member if he worked as arbitrator.

K. Lakshminarasimhan, Chief Regional Manager, Indian Overseas Bank, V.C. James, Chairman, Southern India Regional Council, Sundar Rodriguez, Chairman of the Madurai branch, and V.S. Naggarajan, secretary, spoke.