Form of Agreement

No special form for an agreement of arbitration has been prescribed under the Act of 1996. All that is required is to provide for an arbitration clause in the main agreement or a separate agreement for arbitration or documents showing the intention as a means for settlement of the disputes. The arbitration agreement, being a contract, must satisfy the conditions of a valid and binding contract. There must be consensus ad idem between the parties, the agreement should not be vitiated by fraud, mistake, coercion, misrepresentation, etc. nor should it be opposed to public policy or against the Jaw.

The arbitration agreement may be a separate agreement, or it may be contained as a clause in the contract or it may be contained in the bylaws, regulations or articles of association of a Corporation or an Association to which the parties have subscribed. As per the new law, an arbitration agreement can be contained in a document signed by the parties, or an exchange of letters, telex, telegrams or other means of telecommunication which may provide a record of agreement, or an exchange of statements of claim and defence in which the existence of the agreement is alleged by one party and not denied by the other.