Lord Mustill had once said that "The great advantage of arbitration is that it combines strength with flexibility. Flexible because it allows the contestants to choose the procedure which fit nature of the dispute and the business context in which it occurs." Arbitration was meant to be a speedy, expeditious and cost-effective method of dispute reconciliation. So, the primary object of ADR movement is avoidance of vexation, expense and delay and promotion of the ideal of "access to justice".

 -Appeal (civil) 2562 of 2006, Supreme Court of India

The INDRP (.in Dispute Resolution Policy) provides for resolving of Domain Name Disputes in India through Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism by arbitration. Article 5 of the INDRP is extracted hereunder:

“5. Procedure of Dispute Resolution

The .IN Registry shall appoint an Arbitrator out of the list of arbitrators maintained by the Registry.

The List of the Arbitrators shall be published on line by the .IN Registry on its website at www.registry.in.

The Arbitrator shall conduct the Arbitration Proceedings in accordance with the Arbitration & Conciliation Act 1996 as amended from time to time and also in accordance with this Policy and rules provided thereunder.”

Resolution of any dispute through Alternative Dispute Resolution offers grave advantages to the parties to any dispute. It offers speedy disposal of the disputes in a cost effective manner without any hassles. Even more important aspect is that the parties to the dispute themselves opt for the arbitration and hence a better participation and cooperation from all parties is the expected norm.

The Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996

The INDRP provides for the resolution of the domain name disputes in accordance with the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996. This would mean that the Indian legislations and judicial precedents would be applicable to the arbitration under the INDRP.

The mechanism of Alternative Dispute Resolution for dispute settlement is well established in India. The legal principles and progressive interpretation of Indian Law are of grave significance to resolution of disputes through arbitration. Also the procedural intricacies and mechanism are a well settled through legal questions decided by the Supreme Court and the High Court of India, which shall have a bearing on the arbitrations conducted in accordance with the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996.

Since the arbitration is mechanized in accordance with the laws of India, the interpretation of the legal propositions shall also be in accordance to the Indian legal position. It is important that the Indian legal position in favour of the party to the arbitration is well presented in the pleadings of the parties to the dispute.

The Complainant and the Domain Name Registrant are required to make their submissions by way of a written communication to the .in Registry. It is found in the rule 10 of the INDRP that there shall be no in-person hearing of the Parties by way of teleconference, video conference or web conference, unless it is so decided by the Arbitrator that such a hearing is absolutely necessary for arriving at a just decision in the complaint.

This explains that the written submissions made by the Complainant and the Domain Name Registrant have to be self contained and exhaustive on the legal provisions in India and on the legal rights of the parties which is claimed by them in view of the laws governing the Indian scenario. Though the INDRP has the ground on which the remedy sought for can be claimed, it is important that those grounds are presented by way of enumerating the legal provisions in India in confluence with the essential facts and circumstances under which the prayer is sought for.

Since INDRP provides for arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, it is important that the parties choose experienced Legal Expert with deep insights on the Indian Legal System, the substantive laws in India, the procedure and rules and precedents set by the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts of India to help them protect their rights. These factors contribute on a massive scale for the speedy disposal of the complaints filed by the complainants.

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