Arbitration agreement valid even if appointment mechanism rendered invalid by law: Supreme Court

Published on : 08 Oct 2025, 3:44 pm 3 min read

The Supreme Court recently ruled that arbitration agreements remain operative even if the appointment mechanism contained in the arbitration clause has become inoperative due to statutory amendments [ Offshore Infrastructure Vs Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited].

A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih further clarified that applications filed in court for appointment of arbitrators under Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 would get the benefit of the COVID-19 limitation exclusion.

" Merely because the procedure to appoint an arbitrator provided in the clause has become inoperative due to subsequent changes in statutory provisions, would not mean that the core of the contract ref