Section 11 Arbitration Act (Appointment of Arbitrator): How to Apply (2026)

Legal Explainer · Arbitration Law

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 is the section you use when the other side will not agree on an arbitrator, or does not appoint one at all. In simple words, it lets a party go to the High Court or the Supreme Court and ask the court to appoint the arbitrator. At this stage the court mainly checks one thing: does an arbitration agreement prima facie exist? This guide explains what the section says, who can apply, which court to approach, how long you have, and what recent rulings mean for your petition. Last verified: October 2026.

The short answer

What it is: Section 11 lets the High Court or Supreme Court appoint an arbitrator when parties fail to agree.
Which court: Supreme Court for international commercial arbitration, High Court for the rest.
What the court checks: mainly whether an arbitration agreement prima facie exists.
Not criminal: no offence, punishment or bail, and no BNS or BNSS equivalent.
Act early: file within limitation and keep proof of your notice.

01What Section 11 says

Many contracts say that disputes will go to arbitration. The trouble starts later. One side raises a dispute, names an arbitrator, and the other side ignores the notice or rejects the name. Without an arbitrator, the arbitration cannot even begin. Section 11 solves this deadlock.

The section works in layers:

Party choice first. Parties are free to agree on a procedure to appoint the arbitrator or arbitrators. The court steps in only when that procedure fails.
Default rule. If the agreement is silent, a three-member tribunal is the usual default, with each side appointing one arbitrator and the two choosing the presiding arbitrator. For a sole arbitrator, the parties must agree on the name.
30 day window. If a party does not appoint within 30 days of a request from the other side, or the two appointed arbitrators do not agree on the third within 30 days, a party can move the court.
Court appointment. The Supreme Court or the High Court, or a person or institution designated by it, then makes the appointment.

Not a criminal section

Section 11 is a civil procedure provision. It has no offence, no punishment, and no bail. The usual headings of cognizable, bailable and triable-by do not apply here. The section is about forming the tribunal, not deciding the dispute.

02Key ingredients of a Section 11 petition

A petition under Section 11 usually needs these elements to be in place.

A written arbitration agreement (a clause in a contract or a separate agreement).
A live dispute that falls within the clause.
A notice invoking arbitration sent to the other side, usually naming a proposed arbitrator or asking them to agree on one.
Failure of the appointment procedure. The other side did not appoint, or the agreed method broke down, within the time allowed.
A petition filed in time. Limitation matters. See the section on recent law below.

Keep proof of every step: the contract, the notice, the postal or email proof of delivery, and any reply. The court will read this record first.

03Which court hears a Section 11 petition

The forum depends on the type of arbitration.

Type of arbitration	Court that appoints
International commercial arbitration	The Supreme Court
Any other arbitration (domestic)	The High Court with jurisdiction

Since the 2015 amendment, the Supreme Court or the High Court can designate arbitral institutions to make appointments, instead of deciding every name itself. The court decides, not the Chief Justice personally. This was a major change from the earlier system.

Courts are also expected to dispose of an application quickly. The Act sets a target of 60 days from service of notice on the opposite party. In practice many petitions take longer.

04What the court checks: the referral scope

This is the most argued part of Section 11. How much can the court look into when you ask for an appointment?

Since the 2015 amendment, the law says the court should confine itself to the examination of the existence of an arbitration agreement. The court is not meant to hold a mini trial. Questions such as whether the claim is time-barred or whether the dispute is arbitrable are, in the usual case, left to the arbitral tribunal.

The Supreme Court has said this in several judgments. In Vidya Drolia v Durga Trading Corporation (2020), it explained the prima facie test and said courts should refuse reference only where it is clear that the dispute is non-arbitrable or the agreement is non-existent. In NTPC v SPML Infra (2023), it again said that the court should decline only in the rare, clear case.

At the Section 11 stage the court asks one main question: is there an arbitration agreement? Everything else is usually for the tribunal.

05Recent law you should know (2026)

Several rulings have changed how Section 11 petitions are handled. Check the latest position before you file, because this area keeps moving.

Unstamped agreements

A seven-judge Bench in In Re: Interplay between Arbitration Agreements under the 1996 Act and the Stamp Act (December 2023) held that an unstamped or insufficiently stamped arbitration agreement is not void or unenforceable. It is an issue of curable defect, and should be dealt with by the tribunal, not at the Section 11 stage.

Unilateral appointment

Clauses that let one party alone pick the sole arbitrator, or control the panel, have been challenged for lack of equal treatment. Earlier cases such as TRF Ltd v Energo Engineering (2017) and Perkins Eastman v HSCC (2019) held that a person who is ineligible to act cannot appoint an arbitrator. A later Constitution Bench ruling in 2024 dealt with panels controlled by one side.

Limitation

The Supreme Court has said that a Section 11 application should be filed within three years of the refusal or failure to appoint, and a plainly time-barred claim may be refused at the threshold. Do not wait.

Disclosure by the arbitrator

Under Section 11(8) read with Section 12, the proposed arbitrator must disclose any circumstance that may raise doubts about independence or impartiality. The Fifth and Seventh Schedules list grounds that can make a person ineligible.

06How to apply, step by step

Read the clause. Check the seat, the number of arbitrators, any named institution, and any pre-arbitration steps such as negotiation.
Send the notice. Invoke arbitration in writing and propose a name or ask the other side to agree on one.
Wait for the period to pass. Allow the agreed time, or 30 days where the Act applies by default.
Pick the right court. High Court for domestic matters, Supreme Court for international commercial arbitration.
File the petition with the agreement, the notice, proof of service, and a short statement of the dispute.
Keep your proposed name ready. Courts often invite names and may use an arbitral institution.
Prepare for fees. The Fourth Schedule fee model is a guide for arbitrator fees in ad hoc cases.

Court fee, format and filing rules differ by High Court, so check your High Court rules before filing.

07Criminal law, BNS 2023 and BNSS 2023

Many Indian law readers search section pages looking for a BNS or BNSS equivalent. For Section 11, there is none to look up. This section sits in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, which is a civil law. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 replaced the IPC and the CrPC, not this Act.

If you are working on criminal law pages, see our explainers on Section 124A IPC (sedition) and Section 120B IPC (criminal conspiracy). For criminal practice tools, see case management software for criminal lawyers. Always check the current BNS number, since it may differ from the old IPC number.

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.

For a Section 11 petition, the work is mostly research. You want recent High Court and Supreme Court rulings on the scope of referral, limitation, stamping and unilateral appointment, and you want to know how your own High Court has ruled. Claw covers 9,102 forums, holds 30 crore+ judgments, and returns results in under 5 seconds. It is name tolerant, so you can also track related cases by party name. Claw does not use customer case documents to train AI models.

Create a FREE Claw account to search 30 crore+ judgments on this section and track related cases by party name. The free plan is for individual advocates. Teams and enterprises are on paid plans.

09Sources and further reading

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (bare act): indiacode.nic.in
Supreme Court of India judgments: sci.gov.in
Claw: clawlaw.in

This page is general information, not legal advice. The law was last verified in October 2026. Always read the current bare act and the latest judgments before filing.

10Frequently asked questions

What is Section 11 of the Arbitration Act?

Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 deals with the appointment of arbitrators. If the parties or the appointed arbitrators cannot agree, a party can ask the High Court or the Supreme Court to appoint the arbitrator.

Which court do I approach under Section 11?

For international commercial arbitration, approach the Supreme Court. For other arbitrations, approach the High Court with jurisdiction. Confirm the rule against the bare act before filing.

What does the court examine in a Section 11 petition?

Mainly whether an arbitration agreement prima facie exists. Issues like limitation of the claim and arbitrability are usually left to the tribunal, except in clear cases.

Is there a time limit to file under Section 11?

Yes. Courts have treated the application as subject to a three year limitation from the refusal or failure to appoint. Check the latest case law and file early.

Does an unstamped arbitration agreement stop an appointment?

Not by itself. A seven-judge Supreme Court Bench in December 2023 held that lack of stamping is a curable defect and does not make the agreement void. Check for later developments.

Is there a BNS or BNSS equivalent of Section 11?

No. Section 11 is part of a civil Act, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The BNS and BNSS replace the IPC and the CrPC, not this Act.