Bharat Aluminium Co. Vs Kaiser Aluminium Technical Service (Supreme Court of India)
Case Analysis: Bharat Aluminium Co. v. Kaiser Aluminium Technical Services Inc. (2012) 9 SCC 552
Introduction
The landmark judgment of Bharat Aluminium Co. v. Kaiser Aluminium Technical Services Inc., popularly known as BALCO v. Kaiser, was given by the Supreme Court of India in 2012. The case profoundly altered the dynamics of international commercial arbitration in India by bringing the country’s arbitration jurisprudence into alignment with globally accepted standards. It resolved a long-standing legal uncertainty regarding how much Indian courts can interfere with foreign-seated arbitrations and ultimately overruled the previous controversial ruling in Bhatia International v. Bulk Trading S.A. (2002).
Background and Facts
Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), which is an Indian company, had a collaboration with Kaiser Aluminium Technical Services Inc., a foreign company, for equipment supply and associated technical services. The contract between the parties had an arbitration clause, which identified the seat of arbitration as London, United Kingdom, and that the proceedings would be held under the English Arbitration Act.
A disagreement arose, and arbitration proceedings were started in London under the terms of the agreement. BALCO went to Indian courts seeking interim relief under Section 9 of the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. This presented a crucially important question of law: Can Indian courts order interim relief in arbitrations with their seats outside India?
