The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir has obtained approval to set up an International Arbitration Center, with offices at Srinagar and Jammu in order to provide an institutionalised framework for the speedy and expeditious resolution of disputes through an alternate dispute resolution mechanism.
The JKIAC’s office at Srinagar is planned to be set up in one of the buildings in the old Saddar Court Court, Complex, Lal Chowk, Srinagar.The High Court has also framed The Jammu and Kashmir International Arbitration Centre (JKIAC) (International Management Rules, 2020) in order to ensure that the constitution of such offices is smooth and effective, the Registrar General informed.
The High Court’s Chief Justice shall be the Patron-in-Chief of the JKIAC. The Committee will consist of three Judges of the High Court, the Advocate General, the Assistant Solicitor General attached to the High Court and three members to be nominated by the Chief Justice, out of whom at least one shall be designated Senior Advocate, while the others may be arbitration experts.
To supervise and manage the JKIAC, a secretariat consisting of a coordinator and two additional coordinators, who shall be Members of the Judicial Service, have to be appointed by the Chief Justice. The rules further envisage the appointment of a Chief Counsel and a Deputy Counsel comprising of Advocates with experience in the field of arbitration.
The empanelled Arbitrators shall consist of Former Judges, Former Judicial Officers, Chartered Accountants, Bureaucrats, Engineers, Architects, Professors etc. This is the first time an arbitration centre is being set up as far as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is concerned.
