Dispute Settlement in Indian FTAs’: Shaping the Future with Lessons from the Past

Abstract

India is no stranger to free trade agreements (FTAs), having notified seventeen of them as ‘in force’ to the WTO. In the last six months, India has concluded two new FTAs and is also actively engaged in the process of negotiating major ones with its key trading partners such as the UK, EU and Canada. With the WTO’s Appellate Body still non-functional, the spotlight is now on the dispute settlement mechanisms under the FTAs and their potential to be a viable alternative to the multilateral mechanism. Hence, an analysis of the select practices in the existing Indian FTAs is not just timely but also critical. This short article attempts to evaluate five specific elements pertaining to dispute settlement in Indian FTAs, namely the scope, the choice of forum, the structure of the dispute resolution mechanism, the process of the appointment of arbitrators/panellists and the case of non-implementation/retaliation. Through this examination, the article attempts to identify and propose specific elements for any future dispute settlement framework in India’s upcoming FTAs. dispute settlement mechanism, Indian FTAs, WTO, free trade agreements, choice of forum, appointment of arbitrators, arbitration, negotiations, panel