Let us be real. Writing arbitration awards is not exactly a walk in the park. If you are an arbitrator in India, or if you are on the receiving end of one, the quality of the award is what decides whether the dispute actually ends or simply moves to the next forum.
Why the drafting matters
Under Section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, a court hearing a challenge is not conducting a rehearing. The grounds are narrow. That makes the award itself the record on which everything turns. An award that sets out the issues, the evidence and the reasoning in an orderly way is far harder to dislodge than one that states a conclusion and leaves the path to it implicit.
What a well-made award contains
- The arbitration agreement and the tribunal’s jurisdiction, stated at the outset
- A clear statement of the issues that arise for determination
- The evidence relied on for each issue, and what was made of it
- Reasons, expressed so that a reader can follow how the conclusion was reached
- The relief granted, with interest and costs dealt with expressly
Reasons are not optional
Section 31(3) requires an award to state the reasons on which it is based, unless the parties have agreed otherwise or the award is on agreed terms. An award that records findings without reasoning invites a challenge on that ground alone, and it deprives the parties of the one thing they engaged the tribunal to produce.
Timelines
Section 29A sets a timetable for making the award. Tribunals that leave drafting to the end of that period, rather than building it through the reference, tend to produce awards that show the compression.
This note is published for information only and is not legal advice.