Arbitration and Conciliation Act Section 7 — Arbitration agreement
CHAPTER II — Arbitration agreement
Civil
Summary
Sub-section (1) defines an arbitration agreement as an agreement between parties to send all or certain disputes to arbitration. These disputes can be ones that have already arisen or ones that may arise in the future, and they must relate to a defined legal relationship, which may or may not be based on a contract.
Sub-section (2) states that an arbitration agreement can take the form of an arbitration clause included within a contract, or it can be a separate agreement on its own.
Sub-section (3) requires that an arbitration agreement must be in writing.
Under clause (a) of sub-section (4), an arbitration agreement is considered to be in writing if it is contained in a document signed by the parties.
Under clause (b) of sub-section (4), an arbitration agreement is also in writing if it is contained in an exchange of letters, telexes, telegrams, or other means of telecommunication, including electronic communication, as long as these exchanges provide a record of the agreement.
Under clause (c) of sub-section (4), an arbitration agreement is in writing if it is contained in an exchange of statements of claim and defence, where one party alleges the existence of the agreement and the other party does not deny it.
Sub-section (5) provides that if a contract refers to another document that contains an arbitration clause, that reference itself constitutes an arbitration agreement, provided the contract is in writing and the reference is made in a way that makes the arbitration clause part of the contract.
Official Text
(1) In this Part, “arbitration agreement” means an agreement by the parties to submit to arbitration all or certain disputes which have arisen or which may arise between them in respect of a defined legal relationship, whether contractual or not.
(2) An arbitration agreement may be in the form of an arbitration clause in a contract or in the form of a separate agreement.
(3) An arbitration agreement shall be in writing.
(4) An arbitration agreement is in writing if it is contained in—
(a) a document signed by the parties;
(b) an exchange of letters, telex, telegrams or other means of telecommunication 1[including communication through electronic means] which provide a record of the agreement; or
(c) an exchange of statements of claim and defence in which the existence of the agreement is alleged by one party and not denied by the other.
(5) The reference in a contract to a document containing an arbitration clause constitutes an arbitration agreement if the contract is in writing and the reference is such as to make that arbitration clause part of the contract.