Beyond Procedural Rigidities: When Missing or Imperfect Section 21 Notices Do Not Defeat Arbitration.

Introduction : The notice of invocation under Section 21 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 ("Act") has always been a tricky one in the arena of Indian arbitration law as it falls somewhere between the strictures of procedure and the consent of the parties. The Section 21 notice is actually a formal step under the statute which will begin the formal proceedings of the arbitration, in particular the suspension of the Limitation Act 1963-time bar. Commercial litigants often try to...