Powers and Duties of the Arbitral Tribunal in Managing the Arbitration Process
Powers and Duties of the Arbitral Tribunal in Managing the Arbitration Process. Ø Powers and Duties of Arbitral Tribunal 1. Power to Rule on its Own Jurisdiction The authority of an arbitral tribunal to adjudicate on any challenge to the existence and legality of the arbitration agreement is addressed in Section 16 of the Act. The arbitration clause, which is to be regarded as a separate agreement from the other conditions of the contract, is unaffected by the arbitral tribunal’s ruling that the contract is void and unenforceable. In Wellington Associates Ltd. vs Mr. Kirit Mehta (2000), the Supreme Court ruled that Section 33 of the Arbitration Act, 1996 makes it clear that any dispute regarding the “existence” of the arbitration agreement may only be resolved by application to the Court and not by the arbitrator. Section 16 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act of 1996 has since eliminated the arbitrator’s incapacity. A decis...