Role of Third-Party Arbitration: Balancing Objectivity and Fairness in Dispute Resolution

Third-party arbitrations are on the rise with third parties being called upon in an arbitration dispute in order to provide justice to the aggrieved party. However, the Indian laws say little when the question of the rights and liabilities of a third-party arises. This blog ponders over different statutory rights as well as the liabilities of third parties in arbitration. It also focuses on different views taken by the constitutional courts and what doctrine is being used for bringing a third-party into an arbitration, with or without their consent, by interpreting various sections of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996. In the end, the author comments upon the existing jurisprudence for third-party arbitration and calls upon the legislature to recognise different rights and liabilities through various amendments.