How-To Guide · Arbitration

How to Start Arbitration in India (2026)

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Starting arbitration is not the same as filing a court case. Arbitration is a private dispute resolution process the two sides agreed to, so the first question is always whether you have a valid arbitration agreement, and the first real step is a written notice, not a plaint. In India the process runs under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996. Once you confirm the agreement, you send a notice invoking arbitration, which is what legally begins the proceedings, then the arbitrator is appointed and the case gets under way. If the dispute is urgent, you can ask a court for interim protection even before the tribunal exists. This guide explains how to start arbitration in India step by step: the agreement, the notice that commences it, appointing the arbitrator, and getting urgent relief. Last verified October 2026.

01What starting arbitration means

Arbitration is a private process where a neutral arbitrator, not a court, decides your dispute and gives a binding award. You can only arbitrate if both sides agreed to, which they usually did through an arbitration clause in the contract. So starting arbitration is less about going somewhere to file and more about invoking a right you already have under that agreement.

The whole process runs under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996. The practical sequence is simple: confirm the agreement, send the notice that begins the proceedings, appoint the arbitrator, and then run the case. Courts come in only at the edges, to help appoint an arbitrator or to give urgent interim relief.

02Step 1: confirm the arbitration agreement

Everything starts with a valid arbitration agreement. Under Section 7 of the Act, the agreement must be in writing. It can be a clause inside your main contract or a separate agreement, and it is in writing if it is in a signed document, in an exchange of letters or electronic messages, or admitted in pleadings.

Check that the dispute you have actually falls within what the clause covers. If there is no written arbitration agreement, you cannot force arbitration, and your route is the civil court instead. For the drafting side, which also helps you read your own clause, see how to draft an arbitration clause.

03Step 2: read the clause

Before you send anything, read the arbitration clause closely, because it controls the mechanics. Four things matter most:

• The seat. The seat decides which court supervises the arbitration, which matters for appointment and for interim relief.
• The number of arbitrators. One or three is typical. An even number can create problems, so check.
• The appointment procedure. The clause may set out exactly how arbitrators are named, or name an institution to do it.
• Institution or ad hoc. If the clause names an arbitral institution, its rules govern the process, including how you file.

Following the clause to the letter matters, because a departure from the agreed procedure can be used later to challenge the arbitrator or the award.

04Step 3: send the Section 21 notice

This is the step that actually starts arbitration. You send the other side a written notice invoking arbitration, also called a notice to refer the dispute or a Section 21 notice. It should identify the contract and the arbitration clause, describe the dispute, state the relief you want, and call on the other side to agree to refer the matter to arbitration, usually proposing an arbitrator or the appointment method.

Under Section 21, arbitration commences on the date the other side receives your notice to refer the dispute, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. That date can decide limitation.

The date of this notice is legally important. Under Section 21, the proceedings commence on the date the respondent receives the request, unless the parties agreed otherwise. That date is what stops the limitation clock, so send the notice in a way that proves delivery and keep the proof.

05Step 4: appoint the arbitrator

Once arbitration is invoked, the tribunal has to be constituted. If the clause sets a procedure, follow it. If the two sides cannot agree on the arbitrator, or the other side simply does not respond, you can apply to the court to appoint one under Section 11 of the Act. That is a common pressure point, because a reluctant party often stalls at the appointment stage.

For the full appointment process, including when the court steps in and the limits on it, see how to appoint an arbitrator under Section 11 and the explainer at Section 11 of the Arbitration Act.

06Step 5: urgent interim protection

Arbitration can take time, and sometimes you need protection right away, for example to stop the other side from selling an asset or calling a bank guarantee. You have two routes:

• Section 9: a court. Before the tribunal is constituted, or even after, you can ask a court for interim measures under Section 9. This is the usual route for urgent relief at the start, before an arbitrator exists. See how to seek interim relief under Section 9.
• Section 17: the tribunal. Once the arbitrator is in place, you ask the tribunal itself for interim measures under Section 17, which carry the force of a court order. See Section 17 of the Arbitration Act.

Starting the arbitration and seeking interim protection can run in parallel, so an urgent case does not have to wait for the tribunal.

07When the other side ignores the clause

Sometimes the other party ignores the arbitration clause and files a civil suit instead. When that happens, you can apply under Section 8 asking the court to refer the parties to arbitration, so long as you do it before submitting your first statement on the substance of the dispute. The court will refer the matter unless it finds that no valid arbitration agreement exists.

The honest point is that arbitration is consensual but enforceable: a valid clause cannot simply be side-stepped by running to court. For the detail, see Section 8 of the Arbitration Act.

08Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Arbitration is private, but the court matters around it are not: appointment petitions under Section 11, interim applications under Section 9, challenges under Section 34 and enforcement under Section 36 all run in the High Courts and commercial courts. Claw tracks these arbitration-related court matters across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with alerts when a new matter is filed, so you can watch a counterparty for a Section 11 petition or a Section 9 application the moment it is filed. Before you invoke a clause, an entity check on the other side, through a case search across Indian courts by party name across every forum at once, can show you their litigation history and how they fight. Claw's Legal GPT lets you search 30 crore+ judgments, with Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, returning results in under 5 seconds, so you can see how courts have read Section 21 commencement and the scope of an arbitration clause. Claw does not use your searches or documents to train its AI models. A clean search means nothing was found on the forums covered on the date searched under the names you used, and this is general information, not legal advice.

09Sources and further reading

• India Code (Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996): indiacode.nic.in
• Legislative Department (bare Act and amendments): legislative.gov.in
• eCourts (court case status): ecourts.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The exact steps depend on your arbitration clause and the seat, so consult an arbitration lawyer before you invoke it.

10Frequently asked questions