New Delhi, Jun 16 (IANS): The Ministry of Law and Justice has set up a 16-member expert committee headed by former Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs, T.K. Vishwanathan, for examining the working of arbitration law in India and recommending reforms in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

The Department of Legal Affairs is considering the need to further reform the working of the 1996 act.

The prime reason for the exercise is guided with a view to reduce court intervention in the whole process to the minimum and make arbitration a truly party-driven process, cost-effective, and with time-bound finality being attached to the award.

As part of the exercise and for having requisite consultation, it is proposed to have the views of the experts on the subject and the users of arbitration, prior to amending the law or if required, an original principal legislation on the subject.

The exercise to examine the working of the Act is also with a view to suggest novel solutions to limit the requirements of parties to seek judicial intervention by approaching the court and to address the issue of expeditious attribution of finality to the award.

The terms of reference include to evaluate and analyse the operation of the extant arbitration ecosystem in the country, including the working of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, highlighting its strengths, weaknesses and challenges vis-a-vis other important foreign jurisdictions.