Chapter I - Preliminary
Sections 1 and 2 of the India International Arbitration Centre Act, 2019
Sections 1 and 2 contain the opening provisions of the India International Arbitration Centre Act, 2019. Section 1 states the short title and commencement of the Act, while Section 2 defines the principal terms used throughout the legislation.
Section 1 - Short title and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the India International Arbitration Centre Act, 2019.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 2nd March, 2019.
What Section 1 means
Section 1 identifies the legal name of the enactment and fixes its commencement. Although the Act was enacted in 2019, Parliament expressly provided that it would be deemed to have come into force on 2 March 2019.
The short title was originally the "New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Act, 2019". Act No. 23 of 2022 substituted the present name, "India International Arbitration Centre Act, 2019", with effect from 27 January 2023.
Section 2 - Definitions
Section 2 supplies the statutory meanings of key expressions used in the Act. Unless the context otherwise requires, these meanings apply throughout the legislation.
Section 2(1): In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:
- (a) "Centre" means the India International Arbitration Centre established and incorporated under section 3.
- (b) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Centre referred to in clause (a) of section 5.
- (c) "Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive Officer appointed under section 21.
- (d) "Committee" means the relevant Committee of the Centre referred to in section 19.
- (e) "Custodian" means the person appointed as Custodian under sub-section (2) of section 11 in respect of the undertakings.
- (f) "Fund" means the Fund of the Centre to be maintained under section 25.
- (g) "Member" means a Full-time or Part-time Member of the Centre and includes the Chairperson.
- (h) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette.
- (i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made by the Central Government under this Act.
- (j) "regulations" means regulations made by the Centre under this Act.
- (k) "Society" means the International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), and having its registered office at New Delhi.
- (l) "specified date" means the date specified by the Central Government by notification.
- (m) "undertakings" means the undertakings of the Society which vest with the Central Government under section 7.
Section 2(2): All other words and expressions used in the Act but not defined in it, and which are defined in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996), have the same meanings as assigned to them in that Act.
Why the definitions matter
These definitions create a common statutory vocabulary for the Act. References elsewhere in the Act to the Centre, Chairperson, Chief Executive Officer, Committees, Fund, notifications, rules, regulations and transferred undertakings must be read with Section 2.
Section 2(2) also links the Act to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Where an expression is not defined in this Act but is defined in the 1996 Act, the 1996 Act definition applies.
Meaning and legal effect of Sections 1 and 2
Section 1 establishes the identity and commencement date of the statute. Section 2 is an interpretation provision: it explains how important expressions are to be understood whenever they appear in the Act, subject to any contrary contextual requirement.
The 2022 amendment is particularly important when reading older materials. Older judgments, notifications, articles and documents may still use the former name "New Delhi International Arbitration Centre". Current statutory references should use "India International Arbitration Centre" where the amended law applies.
Official legal sources
The consolidated Central Act can be checked on India Code. The Centre also maintains an official statutes, rules, regulations and notifications page. The Department of Legal Affairs publishes the Act and amendment materials.