In Brief
A hydroelectric project authority in Bhutan and an Indian contractor disputed which law should govern their arbitration over a construction contract executed in 2009. The contract originally provided for Indian arbitration law as a fallback, but Bhutan enacted its own Alternative Dispute Resolution Act in 2013. The contractor sought arbitrator appointment under the Indian Act; the High Court agreed. On appeal, the Supreme Court found that both parties had reached consensus to apply Bhutan's 2013 Act with the seat at Thimphu instead. The Court modified the High Court's order accordingly, while permitting the tribunal to hold hearings elsewhere with party consent.
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