The parties are free to agree on the procedure to be followed by the arbitral tribunal in the arbitration proceedings. In the absence of any such agreement on procedure the arbitral tribunal can conduct the proceedings in the manner it considers appropriate. The power of the arbitral tribunal shall also include the power to determine the admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of any evidence.
Under Section 29 of the said Act, when empowered by the parties or by all members of the arbitral tribunal, the presiding arbitrator can decide issues of procedure.
Limitation
Under Section 43 of the said Act, the Limitation Act applies to arbitration proceedings as it holds to court cases.
Arbitration proceedings for any claim must be commenced within the time limit prescribed by the law of limitation. Otherwise, the remedy is barred.
However, in case the agreement by and between parties prescribes a shorter period of limitation, the court can on the application of any party extend such period, even on the expiry of the time limit, in order to avoid undue hardship to the applicant.
In terms of Section 21 of the said Act, the arbitration proceedings commence when a request to refer the dispute to arbitration is received by the respondent from the claimant.
Conciliation in arbitration proceedings
Section 30 of the said Act permits the arbitral tribunal to use conciliation as an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism even in arbitration proceedings to encourage settlement of disputes.
On settlement of disputes during the arbitral proceedings, the arbitral tribunal can at the instance of the parties record the settlement in the form of a consent arbitration award on agreed terms, which is directly executable as a decree of court.
