Equa Blog

With the rise of e-contracts and smart contracts in commercial transactions globally, it becomes important to analyze developments in ADR such as blockchain arbitration. The concept of blockchain arbitration is very recent and it seeks to use the advantages of the technology in dispute resolution. However, one important facet of understanding the feasibility of using blockchain technology in arbitrations in India is understanding whether awards rendered through such a process can be enforceable in the first place. While the 2015 Amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act introduced some changes to bring the Act on par with contemporary technology, there is still a lack of clarity in determining whether the peculiar form of blockchain arbitration can be facilitated through the Indian Act. Validity of the Arbitration Agreement in Domestic Awards  One problem identified with the enforceability of blockchain  arbitration awards is the lack of enforceability of the agreement itself

  Which mechanism should be adopted by you? The litigation process is not a speedy way to resolve disputes since it has the potential to drag on for months, even years. ADR, on the other hand, was formulated with the view of relieving the courts of their burden of numerous cases. But ADR has become very popular now, and every contract has an arbitration clause in it so that parties do not have to go through tenuous litigation processes. Let us see their comparison: · Cost Factor:- In most cases, the costs and expenses of arbitration are not as much of as litigation. The costs for the arbitration process are restricted to the fee of the arbitrator based on the quantum of the claim, expertise of the arbitrator, expenses, and lawyer fees. The lack of pre-hearing motions and multiple testimonies, as well as the conclusiveness of the decision, results in reducing attorneys' fees and costs. Costs for litigation take account of lawyer fees and court costs, which can be very high for the

The mechanism of ADR System and its techniques are an extra-judicial remedy to resolve disputes outside the legal fora. These techniques can be used in all those cases, which are capable of being resolved, under law, by mutual agreement between the parties. The scope of ADR is wider and can cover cases of civil nature, commercial, industrial and family disputes or any other cases of urgent nature. The ADR works across the full range of business disputes: banking; contract performance and interpretations, construction contracts, intellectual property rights, insurance coverage, conflicts in joint ventures, partnership differences, personal injury; product liability; professional liability, real estate, and securities. The mechanism of the ADR system may offer the best solution in commercial disputes of an international character. The scope of an ADR System is not intended to supplant existing means of dispute resolution. It offers only alternative options to litigation. There is a large

Negotiation  Negotiation is another form of an Alternative Dispute Resolution System. Like conciliation and mediation, negotiation is also a non-binding procedure but a suitable formula for dispute resolution. The discussions between the parties are initiated with the object to reach a compromise settlement through amicable devices. The difference lies in the sense that conciliation and mediation are always initiated with the intervention of a third independent and impartial person. The negotiations may be initiated with or without the intervention of the third party. The main purpose and thrust of all these forms are to arrive at a negotiated dispute settlement. Negotiation is the process of conferencing with another so as to arrive at an amicable settlement about the subject matter of controversy. The most important factor in negotiation by the parties or with the intervention of third-party facilitation is that the disputants always retain control over the process. The process of ne

The parties to the contract generally are well experienced professionals and are capable of determining the law governing the arbitration agreement. Unlike domestic arbitration, an international arbitration involves complexity of laws governing it due to its transnational nature of dispute resolution. In Redfern & Hunter, the following laws are identified to have significance over an international arbitration: 1.“the law governing the arbitration agreement and the performance of that agreement; 2.  the law governing the existence and proceedings of the arbitral tribunal (the lex arbitri); 3. the law, or the relevant legal rules, governing the substantive issues in dispute (generally described as the ‘applicable law’, the ‘governing law’, ‘the proper law of the contract’, or ‘the substantive law’); 4. other applicable rules and non-binding guidelines and recommendations;3 and 5.  the law governing recognition and enforcement of the award (which may, in practice, prove to be not one

In India, a contract between two persons is governed under the Indian Contract Act, 1872 and essentially consists of an offer, acceptance and consideration. With respect to enforcing smart contracts, there isn’t a disparity with the Indian Contract Act, 1872 as all the essentials of a contract, as well as the other provisions of the Act governing contracts shall be applicable to the terms and clauses of a smart contract in pari materia. A smart contract is simply a contract in machine-readable language which is executed and enforced automatically with no human intervention using cryptographic mechanisms on the blockchain network. The terms of many contracts can be written in programming languages that are communicated to a machine. The reason for this is that the performance and enforcement of a contract essentially boil down to conditional statements, which are foundational to computing. Therefore the current contract legislation in India is sufficient to regulate and govern smart con

The Blockchain revolution is poised to change the manner in which the world as it exists today would operate. The technology which is increasingly being used to create decentralized autonomous organizations can function completely without any human intervention. Basic transactions such as the exchange of trade resources, the interaction between individuals and government agencies, etc may soon get replaced by artificial intelligence of computers based on blockchain technology[1]. The rise in the self-execution of smart contracts and decentralized autonomous organizations result in the laws surrounding the individual, the state, and the market being rendered inapplicable at best unless the very crux of the law is rethought in light of the new advancement in technology. The very rule of law itself is threatened with a replacement by the rule of code. ADVANTAGES OF LEX CRYPTOGRAPHIA The benefits of the blockchain-powered rule of code are twofold: First at a primary infrastructural or prot