Emergence of Commercial Justice: Insolvency & Arbitration, First Edition

Book excerpt: About the Book If the 1991 reforms globalized the Indian economy and brought vibrancy to the corporate sector, the year 2015-2016 can be said to have ushered the concept of 'commercial justice' that never existed in India. Prior to this, the legal system was classified between civil and criminal justice only without any concept of commercial justice which has emerged through two significant legislations- The Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and The Arbitration & Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015. These legislations are path-breaking and have far reaching implications for the Indian economy and the business world. The Supreme Court in a short span of five years has interpreted these legislations in certain important judgements, giving certainty in the scope and application of these laws. These significant judgements of the Apex Court have been analyzed in this book. In the regime prior to the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016, the debtors laughed and the creditors cried, in other words, it was a debtors' paradise and creditors' hell. The 2016 legislation brings a paradigm shift in favour of creditors and the Apex Court has reinforced the letter and spirit of the law by its judgements as also the democracy in insolvency resolution through the Committee of Creditors (CoC). The nuances of the law have been analyzed in the book through case-law. The Apex Court has interpreted the Arbitration & Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 to bring the arbitration law in sync with the global arbitration landscape. The principles of fairness in arbitration as also the minimal interference with arbitral awards have been emphasized by the Supreme Court. Vexed questions that took decades to be decided have been settled in record time so as to give clarity to the business world. The book simplifies and demystifies legal complexities through Supreme Court judgements, for the benefit of readers including Law students, young Corporate Lawyers, In-house Corporate Counsel, Company Secretaries and Chartered Accountants.