Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur, has announced plans to establish an International Arbitration and Mediation Institute on its campus at an estimated cost of ₹30 crore. The proposed HNLU International Arbitration and Mediation Institute (HIAMI) is expected to be launched in early 2028, coinciding with the university’s silver jubilee year. The announcement was made by HNLU Vice-Chancellor Professor V. C. Vivekanandan on October 11, at the conclusion of the two-day International Conference on International Arbitration, titled “Governing Disputes: International Law, Treaty Frameworks and Commercial Arbitration”, held on October 10 and 11.

The proposed institute aims to strengthen institutional capacity in arbitration and mediation and contribute to the development of India’s international dispute resolution ecosystem. An important step towards this objective was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between HNLU and the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC), Hyderabad, during the conference’s inaugural ceremony. The agreement is expected to facilitate institutional collaboration in arbitration and mediation.

In his opening remarks, Professor Vivekanandan highlighted the growing gap between the pace of commercial and technological developments and the time taken to resolve legal disputes. “The transaction belongs to the twenty-first century; the dispute risks becoming a prisoner of procedural time,” he observed. He further remarked that the shelf life of technology was shrinking, while legal disputes could remain unresolved for extended periods. Emphasising the wider economic significance of arbitration, he said international arbitration should be viewed not merely as a specialised branch of legal practice but as an integral part of the institutional infrastructure of the global economy.

 

The conference was organised by HNLU’s School of Law and Business, through the Centre for Commercial Arbitration, and the School of Law and Governance, through the Centre for International Law and Diplomacy, in collaboration with the School of Law, Mahindra University, Hyderabad. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) National Coordination Committee, India, was the institutional and knowledge partner.

 

The inaugural session on October 10 was attended by Justice Goda Raghuram, Distinguished Jurist Professor at HNLU and former Director of the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, as the Chief Guest. Professor Ranbir Singh, Distinguished Jurist Professor and eminent educationist, and A. J. Jawad, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of IAMC, Hyderabad, attended as Guests of Honour. The ceremony also featured the digital release of the Book of Abstracts, presenting research contributions submitted for the conference.

 

Three panel discussions examined key questions concerning domestic and international arbitration. The first, titled “When Arbitration Meets the State: Where Does Private Adjudication End and Public Law Begin?”, explored the relationship between arbitration and public law, including the role of the State, judicial oversight and the limits of private adjudication. The discussion featured Justice G. Raghuram; P. V. S. Giridhar, Senior Advocate at the Madras High Court and Distinguished Jurist Professor at HNLU; Professor E. R. Jayaram, Dean of the School of Law at Mahindra University; and Dr Daniel Mathew, Associate Professor of Law at National Law University, Delhi. Justice Raghuram chaired the panel, with Dr Kaumudhi Challa, Associate Professor of Law at HNLU, leading the panel interactions.

 

The second panel, “Arbitration for Young Practitioners: What Changes When Arbitration Goes International?”, focused on the changing professional landscape of international arbitration and the opportunities and challenges facing emerging practitioners. The panel included Professor O. V. Nandimath, Vice-Chancellor of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata; Professor Priya Vinjamuri of Law College Dehradun, Uttarakhand University; A. J. Jawad of IAMC, Hyderabad; and Adwaita Sharma, Advocate and Secretary of the UNCITRAL National Coordination Committee, India. Dr Amitesh Deshmukh, Assistant Professor of Law at HNLU, moderated the discussion.

 

The third panel, titled “The Next Chapter of Indian Arbitration: On the Movement from Domestic Practice to Global Seat”, examined India’s evolving position in the international arbitration landscape and the institutional and professional reforms required to strengthen its global standing. Participants included A. J. Jawad, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of IAMC, Hyderabad; Ajay Thomas, Independent Arbitrator and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Consultant; Hamida Siddique, Senior Advocate at the Chhattisgarh High Court and Executive Director of the Chhattisgarh Institute of Arbitration and Mediation; and Lokenath Chatterjee, Standing Counsel for the Government of West Bengal. Dr Anindhya Tiwari, Assistant Professor of Law at HNLU, facilitated the discussion.

 

Seven parallel technical sessions formed a major component of the conference, providing a platform for research presentations and scholarly deliberations on contemporary issues in arbitration. The sessions covered treaty interpretation, international investment, commercial disputes, enforcement of arbitral awards, public policy, national security, climate change and emerging technologies.

 

The valedictory ceremony on October 11 marked the conclusion of the academic programme. Dr Anita Singh, Faculty Convenor of the International Conference on International Arbitration (ICIA) 2026, delivered the welcome address, followed by a presentation of the conference report by Dr Amitesh Deshmukh, also a Faculty Convenor. Professor Vivekanandan delivered the opening remarks, while Ajay Thomas and Professor E. R. Jayaram addressed the gathering. Professor O. V. Nandimath, Vice-Chancellor of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, was the Chief Guest.

 

The ceremony also recognised outstanding research contributions through Best Paper Awards across the seven technical sessions. The award recipients included Vivek Kushwaha and Devraj Singh Rawat of the Faculty of Law, University of Allahabad; Lieutenant Colonel Dr Mahipal Lather of the National Forensic Science University, Delhi; Pratyush Pandey of HNLU, Raipur; Ayush Pathak and Abhinav Ojha of Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur; Rajib Kumar Mohanty of HNLU, Raipur, and Anmol Sai of the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru; Anushka Sharma and Mehek Joshi of Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur; Shreyansh Jain and Kirti Sinha of National Law University, Odisha; and Anirudh Gupta and Abhishek Kumar of Rashtriya Raksha University, Gandhinagar.

 

During the inaugural programme, Professor Yogendra Srivastav, Director of the School of Public Policy, welcomed the participants. Dr Anita Singh, Head of the Centre for International Law and Diplomacy, and Dr Amitesh Deshmukh, Head of the Centre for Commercial Arbitration, coordinated the conference. Student Convenors Ansh Parashar and Suyash Kapasiya assisted in organising the event.

 
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RDJ/BKT

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