Arbitration Lawyers — Commercial Arbitration in Ahmedabad & Across India
for the day after the award.
Candour Legal represents companies, promoters and lenders in domestic and international commercial arbitration — from the invocation notice under Section 21 through interim relief, hearings and the award, and then the part most parties underestimate: enforcing it, or defending it. We appear before tribunals across India and before the commercial courts and High Courts that supervise them.
How we approach arbitration
An arbitration award is a piece of paper until a court treats it as a decree. That single fact shapes how we run every matter: the reliefs we frame, the evidence we build and the record we protect during hearings are all chosen with Sections 34, 36 and 48 in mind, because that is where the award will eventually be tested. Clients who come to us mid-proceeding often need the record repaired before the award lands.
We act in ad hoc arbitrations under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and in institutional proceedings, for claimants and respondents, in disputes arising from supply and distribution contracts, construction and EPC projects, shareholder and joint-venture agreements, loan and security documents, and government contracts.
What we handle
Eight core workstreams — from the arbitration clause to the executed decree.
Commercial arbitration, end to end
Invocation under Section 21, statements of claim and defence, counterclaims, evidence and cross-examination, written submissions and final hearing — conducted before sole arbitrators and three-member tribunals in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and other Indian seats.
Interim relief — Sections 9 and 17
Freezing and securing assets, injunctions against invocation of bank guarantees, appointment of receivers, and orders preserving the subject matter — from the courts under Section 9 before a tribunal exists, and from the tribunal under Section 17 once it does.
Appointment of arbitrators — Section 11
When the other side sits on your notice and the clause’s appointment machinery fails, we move the High Court — or the Supreme Court in international commercial arbitrations — for appointment, and contest appointments where the clause or the nomination is defective.
Challenging awards — Sections 34 and 37
Setting-aside petitions on the grounds the Act actually permits — jurisdiction, natural justice, awards beyond the reference, public policy and patent illegality — filed within the strict three-month window, and appeals under Section 37 from orders granting or refusing relief.
Enforcing domestic awards — Section 36
Execution of awards as decrees, resisting stay applications or extracting deposit conditions where a stay is sought, tracing assets, and pressing execution before the commercial courts — the stage where a favourable award becomes actual recovery.
Foreign awards & international arbitration
Enforcement of New York Convention awards in India under Sections 47 and 48, resisting enforcement on the limited grounds available, and acting as Indian counsel in SIAC, ICC and LCIA proceedings — evidence from India, parallel Section 9 relief, and enforcement strategy. Cross-border structures run through our GIFT City practice.
Construction, infrastructure & government contracts
Delay and prolongation claims, termination disputes, price-escalation and variation claims, and arbitrations under government and PSU contract conditions — document-heavy matters where the claim is won in the record-building, months before the hearing.
Arbitration clauses & MSME references
Drafting and auditing arbitration clauses before disputes arise — seat, institution, language and interim-relief carve-outs — and statutory references for MSMEs before the Facilitation Council under Section 18 of the MSMED Act, where conciliation precedes arbitration.
How an arbitration runs
The typical sequence under the 1996 Act — and where the leverage sits at each stage.
We read the contract and the clause first — seat, notice requirements, pre-conditions — then serve the Section 21 notice that starts the reference and stops limitation running.
Where assets may vanish or a bank guarantee is about to be encashed, a Section 9 application is filed early; once the tribunal is constituted, Section 17 takes over the same ground.
Appointment by consent where the machinery works; a Section 11 application to the High Court where it does not. Arbitrator selection is strategy, not formality — subject-matter comfort matters.
Claims and defences, disclosure, witness statements and cross-examination — run against the Section 29A clock, which requires the award within twelve months of completed pleadings, extendable six months by consent.
A favourable award moves straight to execution under Section 36; an adverse one is tested under Section 34 within three months. Either way, the endgame was built into the case from step one.
Why clients arbitrate with Candour Legal
Every pleading is drafted with the Section 34 and execution stages in mind, because that is where the money actually moves.
Arbitrations spill into courts — Section 9, Section 11, Section 34, execution. The same team runs both tracks, so nothing is lost in a handover.
Deep experience before the commercial courts in Ahmedabad and the Gujarat High Court, with Mumbai and Delhi offices for tribunals and enforcement elsewhere.
Some claims cost more to arbitrate than they will ever recover. We say so at the first consultation, with numbers, before you commit to a reference.
Frequently Asked Questions
What clients ask before starting — or receiving — an arbitration notice.
How long does arbitration take in India?
Section 29A requires a domestic award within twelve months from completion of pleadings, extendable by six months with the parties’ consent; beyond that, only a court can extend the mandate. In practice, a well-run domestic arbitration finishes in one and a half to two and a half years including interim skirmishes. Challenges and execution add time, which is why we plan those stages from the outset.
Can an arbitration award be appealed?
There is no appeal on merits. An award can only be set aside under Section 34 on narrow grounds — invalid agreement, lack of notice, matters beyond the reference, defective tribunal composition, conflict with public policy, and patent illegality in purely domestic awards. The application must be filed within three months, with a maximum thirty-day condonable extension. Courts do not reappreciate evidence, so the arbitration itself is where the case must be won.
Can I get urgent relief before the tribunal is even constituted?
Yes. Section 9 lets a party apply to court for interim measures before or during the arbitration — freezing accounts, restraining a bank-guarantee encashment, securing the amount in dispute, appointing a receiver. Once a tribunal exists, courts generally direct parties to it under Section 17, so timing the application is a tactical decision we take early.
The other side is ignoring my arbitration notice. What now?
Silence does not stall the reference. If the appointment procedure in the clause fails, a Section 11 application is filed — before the High Court for domestic matters, the Supreme Court for international commercial arbitration — and the court appoints the tribunal. The non-cooperating party then litigates before a tribunal it had no hand in choosing, which is rarely to its advantage.
How is a foreign arbitral award enforced in India?
Awards from New York Convention countries are enforced under Part II of the Act. The award-holder files before the High Court with the award and agreement under Section 47; the resisting party can object only on the limited Section 48 grounds, such as invalid agreement, inadequate notice or conflict with Indian public policy. Once those objections fail, the award is executed as a decree of that court against Indian assets.
Our contract has no arbitration clause. Can we still arbitrate?
Yes, if both sides agree. Section 7 permits an arbitration agreement to be made after the dispute has arisen, by a simple signed document. Parties choose this to keep a commercial dispute private and fast. If the other side will not agree, the route is a civil or commercial suit — and for operational creditors and lenders, statutory forums such as the NCLT or DRT may be the sharper remedy.
Is arbitration cheaper than going to court?
Not automatically. Arbitrator fees, venue and institutional charges are real costs that court litigation does not carry, and a three-member tribunal multiplies them. Arbitration earns its cost through speed, privacy, party-chosen expertise and easier cross-border enforcement. For modest claims we often advise a commercial suit or a statutory route instead — the honest comparison is part of our first assessment.
Facing a dispute headed to arbitration?
Whether you are invoking the clause or you have just received a notice, the early moves decide most of what follows. Bring us the contract and the correspondence — we will map the route, the timeline and the realistic recovery in one consultation.
Schedule a Consultation →