Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — back to Table of Contents
Section 87. Effect of arbitral and related court proceedings commenced prior to 23rd October, 2015
This section, as originally inserted by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019, sought to provide that unless the parties otherwise agree, the amendments made by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 would not apply to—
- (a) arbitral proceedings commenced before the commencement of the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015;
- (b) court proceedings arising out of or in relation to such arbitral proceedings irrespective of whether such court proceedings are commenced prior to or after the commencement of the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015,
and that the 2015 Amendment would apply only in relation to arbitral proceedings commenced on or after the commencement of the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 and to court proceedings arising out of or in relation to such arbitral proceedings.
Important note: Section 87 as inserted by the 2019 Amendment was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of India in Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. v. Union of India, (2020) 17 SCC 324, on the ground that it revived the automatic-stay problem under the old section 36 (pre-2015) that the 2015 Amendment had specifically sought to cure, and that its retrospective operation was manifestly arbitrary. As a consequence, Section 87 has no legal effect, and the amendments made by the 2015 Amendment Act (including the substituted section 36) are treated as applying to all court proceedings filed after 23 October 2015, regardless of when the underlying arbitral proceedings commenced.
This completes Part IV (Supplementary Provisions) and the entire Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, as amended up to the Mediation Act, 2023.
