The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 governs the process of arbitration proceedings in India. The appointment of an arbitrator is generally governed under the contract between the parties. An Arbitral Tribunal can be consist of Sole Arbitrator or Three Arbitrators wherein both parties appoint an arbitrator and the arbitrators appoint an Umpire. The number of arbitrators are determined under the Agreement. In some contracts, the parties mutually agree on a specific individual/s to act as the sole arbitrator.

The parties can also agree to appointment of Arbitrator through ‘Institutions such as the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) or the Bangalore International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) or any other institutions suitable to the parties. The institution shall appoint the arbitrator(s) according to its rules and framework.

In case of failure to agree on the appointment of an arbitrator, either party can file a petition before the jurisdictional High Court under section 11 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, seeking appointment of arbitrator. The High Court treats the Arbitration Clause as an independent contract and appoint an arbitrator/ arbitrators as the case may be. The Petitioner must furnish the original arbitration Agreement in the Court or file an appropriate declaration/ affidavit in the Court justifying the reasons for non production of the Agreement under which the Arbitration Clause exists. The Chief Justice Designate/ Chief Justice after determination on existence of Arbitration Agreement, appoint an arbitrator. The parties may request the Court to appoint an arbitrator out of a panel of arbitrators or recommend an arbitrator who is competent to adjudicate the dispute.

Normally, the timeline for appointment of arbitrators, incase of no dispute between the parties is instantly, if there is no disagreement between the parties regarding existence of Arbitration Agreement.