KSLU Solved Question Papers
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 8
2017 Dec Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 8 Alternative Dispute Resolution 2017 Dec Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2017 Dec examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2017 Dec examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2017 Dec examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 2 hours · Total marks 60 · 11 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Explain the salient features of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.[9]
Answer
For full marks, cover: why the 1996 Act replaced the Arbitration Act 1940 (Guru Nanak Foundation); its basis in the UNCITRAL Model Law 1985 and Conciliation Rules 1980; its structure (Parts I, IA, II, III and IV); the salient features one by one: consolidation, party autonomy, minimum court intervention, the written agreement and compulsory reference, interim measures, competence of the tribunal, independence of arbitrators, time limits, reasoned awards and costs, limited challenge (Ssangyong), enforcement as a decree (Hindustan Construction), confidentiality, conciliation; the 2025 ruling on modifying awards (Gayatri Balasamy); conclusion.
Why a new Act was needed
The Arbitration Act 1940 had failed. In Guru Nanak Foundation v. Rattan Singh and Sons, AIR 1981 SC 2075, the Supreme Court said arbitration was meant to be "less formal, more effective and speedy". But the way proceedings were conducted "and without an exception challenged in Courts, has made lawyers laugh and legal philosophers weep". Every stage had become "a legal trap to the unwary".
India also needed a law trusted by foreign investors after 1991. So Parliament passed the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996.
Basis and structure
The Preamble records two sources. They are the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1985) and the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules (1980). The aim was uniformity with the law of other countries.
The Act has five parts.
- Part I (sections 2 to 43): arbitration seated in India, domestic and international.
- Part IA (sections 43A to 43M): the Arbitration Council of India. It has been in force since 12 October 2023, but the Council "has not been constituted as yet" (Lok Sabha answer of 6 February 2026).
- Part II (sections 44 to 60): enforcement of foreign awards under the New York Convention and the Geneva Convention.
- Part III (sections 61 to 81): conciliation.
- Part IV (sections 82 to 87): supplementary provisions.
The salient features
1. One consolidated law. The Act repealed the Arbitration (Protocol and Convention) Act 1937, the Arbitration Act 1940 and the Foreign Awards (Recognition and Enforcement) Act 1961 (section 85). Domestic arbitration, international arbitration, foreign awards and conciliation are now in one statute.
2. Party autonomy. The parties choose the number of arbitrators (section 10) and the appointment procedure (section 11(2)). They also choose the procedure (section 19(2)), the place (section 20) and the language (section 22). The tribunal follows the parties' choice of law in an international case (section 28).
3. Minimum court intervention. "No judicial authority shall intervene except where so provided in this Part" (section 5). This answers the evil described in Guru Nanak Foundation.
4. A written agreement, enforced by the courts. The arbitration agreement must be in writing (section 7(3)). Suppose a party sues on a matter covered by the agreement. On the other party's application, the court must refer them to arbitration, unless prima facie no valid agreement exists (section 8).
5. Interim measures. A court may grant interim measures before, during or after the proceedings (section 9). The tribunal may grant them too, and its orders are enforced like court orders (section 17).
6. The tribunal rules on its own jurisdiction. The tribunal may decide objections to its own jurisdiction (section 16(1)). An arbitration clause is treated as independent of the contract. So a finding that the contract is void does not by itself make the clause invalid.
7. Independence and impartiality. An arbitrator must disclose any interest or relationship (section 12(1)). A person in a category of the Seventh Schedule is ineligible to act (section 12(5)). The parties can waive this only in writing, after the dispute arises.
8. Equal treatment. The parties must be treated equally, and each must have a full opportunity to present its case (section 18).
9. Time limits. In a domestic arbitration the award must be made within twelve months of the pleadings closing (section 29A(1)). The parties may extend this by six months, and only the court can extend it further. The parties may also choose a fast track procedure, with an award within six months (section 29B).
10. Reasoned award and costs. The award must state reasons unless the parties agree otherwise (section 31(3)). Costs follow the general rule that the unsuccessful party pays, unless the tribunal records reasons for another order (section 31A).
11. Limited challenge. An award can be set aside only on the grounds in section 34, on an application made within three months. Patent illegality is a ground only for domestic awards (section 34(2A)).
Ssangyong Engineering and Construction Co Ltd v. National Highways Authority of India, AIR 2019 SC 5041, explained the 2015 changes. The Court said "fundamental changes have been made". The wide view of public policy in earlier cases "has been done away with", and a new ground of patent illegality "with inbuilt exceptions" was introduced. The amended section 34 applies to applications filed on or after 23 October 2015.
12. Enforcement as a decree. Once the time for challenge expires, the award is enforced "as if it were a decree of the court" (section 36(1)). Since 2015, filing a challenge does not stay the award automatically; a separate stay application is needed (section 36(2) and (3)).
Hindustan Construction Company Ltd v. Union of India, AIR 2020 SC 122, protected this reform. The 2019 amendment had added section 87, which would bring back the automatic stay for older arbitrations. The Supreme Court struck section 87 down as manifestly arbitrary under Article 14. Section 87 is still printed in the Act, but it is not law.
13. Limited appeals. Appeals lie only against the orders listed in section 37.
14. Confidentiality and protection. Arbitral proceedings are confidential, except the award where disclosure is needed to enforce it (section 42A). No suit lies against an arbitrator for anything done in good faith (section 42B). Both have applied since 30 August 2019.
15. Conciliation with the force of an award. A settlement signed by the parties in conciliation "shall have the same status and effect" as an arbitral award on agreed terms (section 74).
How far a court may change an award
In Gayatri Balasamy v. ISG Novasoft Technologies Ltd, 2025 INSC 605, a Constitution Bench answered whether a court may modify an award. The majority held that the court has only "a limited power" under sections 34 and 37. It may:
- sever an invalid part of the award from the valid part;
- correct clerical, computational or typographical errors;
- modify post-award interest in some circumstances;
- use Article 142, with great care and caution.
K.V. Viswanathan J dissented and would have allowed no modification at all.
Conclusion. The salient features of the 1996 Act are one consolidated law based on the UNCITRAL models, wide party autonomy and minimum court intervention. It adds a tribunal that rules on its own jurisdiction and independent arbitrators. It sets time limits, requires reasoned awards and allows only a narrow challenge. The award is enforced as a decree. The 2015, 2019 and 2021 amendments sharpened these features. The courts, in Ssangyong, Hindustan Construction and Gayatri Balasamy, have kept their own role narrow.
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