The Hindu Business Line : Law panel for special divisions in HCs to clear high-value cases

HIGH-VALUE commercial cases may soon get speedy justice. The Law Commission has seen merit in the concept of having special commercial divisions in all the High Courts of the country to tackle such matters.

A committee constituted by the Law Commission is set to recommend the setting up of special commercial divisions in each of the High Courts to handle high-value cases, a senior Law Ministry official told Business Line.

If and when established, such divisions will help in faster disposal of high-value cases that are stuck up due to various reasons, as also prevent "forum shopping", especially to the US courts.

"There have been a number of instances where the US courts have settled litigation in cases where it was held that the Indian courts would take a lot of time to deliver justice," sources pointed out.

Legal experts say that the practice of forum shopping allows parties to select a forum that they perceive as favourable for filing a suit. In fact, instances of forum shopping have regularly surfaced in India also. "Some of the Indian courts have been quite vigilant in this matter and refrained from entertaining cases, which they perceive as an attempt at forum shopping," said Mr U.K. Chaudhary, Senior Advocate.

A section of the corporate lawyers feel that having special divisions would be fruitful only when you have `specialised' judges in commercial matters. They held that forum shopping is seen more in those contracts where a foreign partner is involved.

Says Ms Pallavi Shroff, Head of Litigations, Amarchand Mangaldas: "UK courts have commercial divisions to tackle high-value cases. Not only have they been successful but they also helped in quick redressal of matters."

Ms Shroff held that there is great merit in the proposal, as parties involved in the commercial cases generally cannot afford any wastage of time. The concept should be extended to arbitration cases as well, she said.

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