Winds of Change in the Indian Legal System

In light of the new commercial courts ordinance, we try and estimate timelines for the resolution of commercial disputes before these ‘model courts’ and highlight some not-so-subtle differences in procedure.

The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Ordinance, 2015 is hoped to establish ‘model courts’ for commercial litigation, following best practices from around the world.

The ordinance, which subsequently became law, is a revolutionary piece of legislation expected to usher in an era of speedy disposal of cases with strong disincentives for frivolous litigation. There is also a strong emphasis on narrowing the controversy between the parties and focussing their attention on the core issues of a case.

The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Act, 2015 became law on 31 December 2015.

Authored by Binny Kalra and Raunaq Kamath.

This article was published on Legal 500.