Supreme Court Judge PS Narasimha emphasizes making arbitration accessible for everyday civil disputes, from neighbor conflicts to family matters. He urges embedding arbitration into the judicial system to reduce case backlogs and ensure faster, simpler justice.
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NEW DELHI: Justice PS Narasimha, Judge of the Supreme Court of India, addressed at the India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC) during the launch of its inaugural annual magazine, The Equilibrium. The Supreme Court judge highlighted the urgent need to democratize arbitration in India, suggesting it should extend beyond elite commercial disputes to resolve smaller civil conflicts that burden the judicial system.
Justice Narasimha raised a critical question:
“Has arbitration been hijacked for commercial purposes?”
He emphasized that arbitration must be embedded into civil court ecosystems, including grassroots centres and court-annexed mechanisms. According to the judge, disputes such as partition issues between siblings or neighbourhood conflicts can be efficiently resolved through arbitration, reducing the load on courts.
“Arbitration should become an integral part of small and simple disputes which arise and plague our system,”
Justice Narasimha said, stressing accessibility over exclusivity.
Reflecting on the success of institutional arbitration, Justice Narasimha noted that it hinges on stakeholders’ faith in arbitration as a legitimate dispute resolution mechanism.
“How much do we believe that arbitration as a remedy for the resolution of disputes is viable or not?”
he asked.
He further emphasized that integrity is crucial, not just for arbitrators but also for the lawyers facilitating arbitration proceedings.
“Without the total and complete integrity of both … institutional integrity is nowhere near,”
the Supreme Court judge stated.
Justice Narasimha encouraged the IIAC to use its newly launched magazine as a platform to continuously review, critique, and innovate within the arbitration ecosystem. He suggested covering topics such as institutional performance, global developments in arbitration, and potential collaborations between arbitration and mediation.
“A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself,” he remarked, emphasizing the importance of open discourse in improving arbitration practices.
IIAC Chairperson and former Supreme Court judge, Justice Hemant Gupta, described The Equilibrium as a crystallization of the centre’s three-year journey since his tenure began in December 2022. During the event, IIAC signed a collaboration agreement with Prayaya ADR Society and acknowledged the contributions of students and designers involved in creating the magazine.
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