India-UK FTA: CJI Surya Kant Highlights Need for Trusted ADR and Arbitration

Chief Justice of India CJI Surya Kant said the India-UK Free Trade Agreement has boosted work on mediation and arbitration. CJI Kant spoke in London on Friday at an Indian Council of Arbitrations conference. CJI Kant stressed that stronger trade needs trusted ways to settle disputes. CJI Kant urged fair processes that match the dispute value and urgency.

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CJI Kant said the FTA was completed last year amid tense global trade conditions. CJI Kant said it stood out as a shared effort between India and the UK. "Just last year, the India-UK Free Trade Agreement was concluded, which was an unquestionable historic moment for both nations, because at a time when international trade discourse is marked by strain and uncertainty, India and the UK showed the world a better way forward,\" said CJI Kant.

India-UK Free Trade Agreement and dispute resolution

CJI Kant linked deeper business ties with the need for reliable dispute settlement. \"We meet at a very significant moment in the relationship between India and the United Kingdom. Ours are two common law descriptions with a long legal conversation between them. They are also two economies seeking to give fuller meaning to a deeper commercial partnership. This significant endeavour requires confidence that when disagreements arise, they will be resolved fairly, efficiently and with respect for commercial realities,\" he said.

CJI Kant said the FTA, due for implementation in coming months, created momentum for the two legal systems. CJI Kant argued for joint work, not rivalry, between the frameworks. \"What is needed now is not comparison, but co-creation. The task is to design together an ADR corridor in which both systems lend each other credibility, talent and standards, ultimately building something neither could build alone,\" he said.

India-UK Free Trade Agreement focus on ADR systems

CJI Kant compared arbitration to India’s older panchayat approach to resolving business disagreements. CJI Kant said the idea relied on trust in decision-makers and practical outcomes. \"In principle, I would say, justice is most legitimate when it is chosen freely, delivered by someone who understands your world and proportionate to what is actually at stake. Arbitration is simply what happens when you take this instinct and give it a framework,\" he said.

CJI Kant said the FTA’s business needs call for an arbitration and mediation protocol. CJI Kant said it should protect commercial relationships and support joint institutions. CJI Kant also pointed to digital tools that can help firms of all sizes use ADR. \"This is where co-creation must begin,\" he said.

CJI Kant listed steps for joint capacity and easier access to ADR. CJI Kant proposed India-UK accreditation and training for arbitrators. CJI Kant also suggested affordable institutional arbitration and clearer hiring protocols. CJI Kant said arbitration should not favour larger firms. \"We must ensure that arbitration is not a privilege of scale, but an instrument of justice,\" he said.

India-UK Free Trade Agreement discussions at ICA conference

The fourth ICA international conference in London included jurists from India and the UK. Sessions examined hybrid ADR models for complex Indo-UK disputes beyond strict silos. Discussions also covered ADR in cross-border trade and investment. The event focused on how dispute systems can support expanding business ties.

India’s Deputy High Commissioner to the UK, Kartik Pande, spoke about the partnership’s strength and growing strategic weight. ICA Director General Arun Chawla pointed to a push for predictability. Chawla highlighted efforts towards certainty in rules, institutions, enforcement, and dispute resolution. The conference centred on making such certainty workable under the FTA.

With inputs from PTI