Chapter V - Chamber of Arbitration and Arbitration Academy
Sections 28 and 29 of the India International Arbitration Centre Act, 2019
Sections 28 and 29 create two important institutional components of the India International Arbitration Centre. Section 28 provides for the Chamber of Arbitration and the permanent panel of arbitrators, while Section 29 enables establishment of an Arbitration Academy for training, research and institutional development.
Section 28 - Chamber of Arbitration
(1) The Centre shall establish a Chamber of Arbitration to empanel the Arbitrators and also scrutinise applications for admission in the panel of reputed arbitrators so as to maintain a permanent panel of arbitrators.
(2) The Chamber of Arbitration shall consist of experienced arbitration practitioners of repute at national and international level and persons having wide experience in alternative dispute resolution and conciliation.
(3) The Centre shall, by regulations, lay down the criteria for admission to the panel of the cadre so as to maintain a pool of reputed arbitrators having expertise in international commercial arbitration and arbitration other than international commercial arbitration.
(4) The Registrar to the Secretariat of the Centre shall act as the Member-Secretary to the Chamber of Arbitration.
Meaning of Section 28
Section 28 establishes a dedicated Chamber of Arbitration within the Centre. Its central responsibility is to scrutinise applications and maintain a permanent panel of reputed arbitrators. The composition of the Chamber is intended to bring together experienced arbitration and alternative dispute resolution practitioners from India and abroad.
The criteria for admission to the panel are not fixed exhaustively in the Act. Instead, Section 28(3) requires the Centre to prescribe those criteria through regulations, allowing the panel framework to be administered through subordinate legislation.
Section 28(1) was specifically amended by Section 13 of Act No. 23 of 2022. The words "which shall" were replaced by "to", effective from 27 January 2023.
Section 29 - Arbitration Academy
(1) The Centre may establish an Arbitration Academy:
- to train arbitrators, particularly in the area of international commercial arbitration, so that they may compete on par with reputed international arbitral institutions;
- to conduct research in the area of alternative dispute resolution and allied areas; and
- to give suggestions for achieving the objectives of the Act.
(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), a permanent three-member committee may be constituted to suggest and submit a report to the Centre regarding amendments, if any, considered necessary to the rules and regulations made under the Act.
Meaning of Section 29
Section 29 gives the Centre an institutional capacity-building and research function. The Arbitration Academy may train arbitrators, conduct research in alternative dispute resolution and allied fields, and make suggestions directed toward achieving the objects of the legislation.
The provision also permits a permanent three-member committee to review the rules and regulations made under the Act and recommend amendments. This creates a mechanism for continuing institutional review and development.
How Sections 28 and 29 work together
Section 28 focuses on the professional framework for the Centre's arbitrator panel, including scrutiny, empanelment and regulatory admission criteria. Section 29 complements that function through training, research and recommendations for development of the statutory and regulatory framework.
Together, the Chamber of Arbitration and Arbitration Academy support the Act's broader objective of developing an effective institutional arbitration framework with access to experienced arbitrators, professional training and continuing research.
Official legal sources
The current consolidated Act can be checked on India Code. The Centre publishes statutes, rules, regulations and notifications on the India International Arbitration Centre official statutes page. Amendment materials are also available from the Department of Legal Affairs.