[Nidhisha Garg is a 3rd year B.A., LL.B (Hons.) student at the National Law Institute University, Bhopal] On 16 January 2019, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) notified the new policy for External Commercial Borrowings (ECB). It seeks to revise the policy that was earlier in place by virtue of the Master Direction on External Commercial Borrowings dated 1 January 2016, as updated from time to time...
Can an Ex-employee of a Party be appointed as an Arbitrator?
[Rajvansh Singh and Tanay Mishra are students at National Law University Odisha] Independence and impartiality are considered to be the cornerstone of arbitration. The duty of an arbitrator to remain independent and impartial is codified under section 12 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (the “Act”). Neither section 12 of the Act nor Article 12 of the UNCITRAL Model Law provides any...
Attachments of Properties Subject to a Moratorium
[Rohit Sharma is a Partner at Mamta Binani & Associates] The promulgation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (‘Code’) has led to an enormous number of applications being filed before the adjudicating authority for initiation of the corporate insolvency resolution process (‘CIRP’) against a company. The purpose of the Code, according to the Report of the Insolvency Law Committee, was...
Consumer Disputes to be Non-Arbitrable: SC Lays to Rest the Controversy
[Nidhisha Garg is a 3rd year student at NLIU Bhopal] The Supreme Court observed in Emaar MGF Land Limited v. Aftab Singh (10 December 2018) that consumer disputes are non-arbitrable, thus putting to rest the ongoing debate on the same. Aftab Singh, in the present matter was aggrieved due to the delayed delivery of possession by the Emaar MGF upon purchase of property. The buyer’s agreement had an...
Binani Judgment: A Ray of Hope for Operational Creditors
[Ashish Rana is an Advocate on Record in the Supreme Court of India] The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (‘I&B Code’) provides for resolution of insolvency of persons in a time bound manner along with the maximisation of value of such person’s assets, to promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit and to balance the interests of all stakeholders. Under the I&B Code, upon...
DIPP’s Revised FDI Policy for E-commerce: Changing the Rules of the Game
[Baibhav Panda is a recent law graduate from KLE Law College, Bengaluru and is presently a legal trainee at Nucleus Software Limited] On 26 December 2018 the Department of Industry and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued Press Note 2 (2018 series) introducing changes to the conditions that would be applicable to the e-commerce entities. The press note now amends para 5.2.15...
Arbitrating ISDA Disputes: A Bright Future for Derivative Markets
[Saurav Roy is a final-year law student [V B.A.LL.B] at ILS Law College, Pune] The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) is the go-to trade organisation for participants in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives market. The ISDA Master Agreement (“Master Agreement”) is a standardised agreement which allows participants to enter into these derivative transactions. Although the...
Rights of Preference Shareholders under the Insolvency Code
[Shubham Jain and Kannan Jhunjhunwala are BA.LLB (Hons.) students at National Law University, Delhi] The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in Brij Bhushan Singhal v Bhushan Steel Ltd. (10 August 2018) allowed for preference shares to be redeemed outside the purview of section 55 of the Companies Act, 2013 when required by the resolution plan. In this case, with Tata Steel Ltd. as...
SEBI’s Considerations for Granting Exemption from a Takeover Offer (Batliboi)
[Prateek Surisetti is a V Year B.A. LL.B. student at NALSAR University of Law] I write to analyze an Order (dated 5 July 2018) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”), which exempted a proposed acquirer from complying with regulation 3 of the SEBI (Substantial Acquisitions and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (the “Takeover Regulations”). The Order sheds light on the particular...
Cross Listing of Shares: A Start
[Rahul Sinha is a consultant with EY] The Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) constituted the ‘Expert Committee for listing of equity shares of companies incorporated in India on foreign stock exchanges and of companies incorporated outside India on Indian stock exchanges’ on 12 June 2018 with a view to facilitating companies incorporated in India to directly list their equity shares...
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