In Brief
The Supreme Court examined whether a two-tier arbitration clause in a commercial contract complies with Indian law. Centrotrade and Hindustan Copper agreed to first resolve disputes through Indian arbitration, with appeal rights to London-based arbitration under ICC rules. The Court held that such two-tier arbitration procedures are permissible and do not violate the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 or India's public policy. The Act's provisions do not prohibit parties from mutually agreeing to appellate arbitration. The Court emphasized party autonomy as fundamental in arbitration and directed separate consideration of enforcement issues.
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