The
recent Supreme Court decision relating to foreign arbitration
awards in Venture Global Engineering vs. Satyam Computer
Services Ltd., and Another, triggered a debate
on the enforcement of foreign arbitration awards. The core
issue of the case was whether the aggrieved party is entitled
to challenge the foreign award, which was passed outside
India, in terms of Section 9 and 34 of the Act or not. Deciding
on the above issues, the Court held that "a suit can
be filed in Indian courts challenging a foreign award passed
by an arbitrator, if the award is against the public policy
and in contravention of statutory provisions". Having
given this ruling, the Court further made it clear that
"the provisions of Part I of the Arbitration and Conciliation
Act, 1996, would apply to all the arbitrations, including
international commercial arbitrations, and to all the proceedings
relating thereto. In the case where such arbitration is
held in India, the provisions of Part I would compulsorily
apply and parties are free to deviate to the extent permitted
by the provisions of Part I. Even in the case of international
commercial arbitrations held out of India, provisions of
Part I would apply unless the parties by agreement, expressed
or implied, exclude all or any of its provisions".
Even though the Court, in this case, tried to solve the
conflicts relating to applicability of Part I to arbitration
held outside India, the judgment raises many questions.
Globalization
and liberalization of trade and economic policies have led
to abundant growth of international commercial transactions.
With the growth of international commerce, commercial disputes
have also increased. International commercial arbitration
is one of the well-recognized modes for resolving such disputes
at national and international levels. Arbitration methods
have given successful results in international business
world, in the settling of commercial disputes among many
corporate houses. Its modalities have helped parties to
resolve their disputes according to their own requirements,
economically and expeditiously. The main objective behind
adopting the arbitration in commercial disputes is to facilitate
international business and to minimize the judicial interference.
But now, the ruling, besides affecting the said object,
may have serious consequences on international commercial
transactions and on foreign arbitration awards passed by
international commercial experts. The ruling may affect
the pending as well as the future transactions relating
to international commercial arbitration and may open the
gates for many challenges. As the courts are already overburdened,
they are not in a position to entertain new challenges relating
to foreign awards passed by international commercial arbitrators.
Instead of giving way for the suits against the foreign
awards, the Court would have guided the parties to seek
the help of international conventions to overcome the difficulty.
This
issue of the journal consists of articles on various topics,
in addition to the regular features such as GES, Decided
Cases and Bookshelf. In the article "The Role of Courts
and ADR in the Rule of Law", the author Georgios I
Zekos mainly focuses on the analysis of the role of courts
and ADR systems in shaping the rule of law, to meet the
needs of litigants as well as of society. Insisting that
the rule of law has to adopt its pace of adoptability and
mobility according to the changing society, he advocates
for the ADR mode of adjudication to meet the requirements.
Uday Shankar and Vinayak Mishra, in their article "Exploring
Viability of Introducing ADR in Criminal Law", proclaiming
that the Criminal Justice System emphasizes the role of
the state in resolving the offences against peace and in
protecting the life as well as the property of its subjects,
points out that the use of ADR in criminal cases is an excellent
option. The authors advocate for the use of ADR in criminal
cases which are not crimes against society, to solve the
disputes between the victim and the offender and to secure
speedy justice to the victim. The article "Arbitration
Awards: Understanding the Limitation of Vacatur and the
Possibilities for an Appeal", by Paul Bennett Marrow,
discusses that awards can be reviewed by courts to ensure
that the arbitrator's actions were free of misconduct and
within his or her authority. The author mainly advocates
that the Federal Arbitration Act does permit the parties
of the contract to have yet another arbitrator.
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs): The Changing Face of Banking in India
Bank Management
Information and communication technology has changed the way in which banks provide services to its customers. These days the customers are able to perform their routine banking transactions without even entering the bank premises. ATM is one such development in recent years, which provides remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the development of this self-service banking in India based on the secondary data.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is playing a very important role in the progress and advancement in almost all walks of life. The deregulated environment has provided an opportunity to restructure the means and methods of delivery of services in many areas, including the banking sector. The ICT has been a focused issue in the past two decades in Indian banking. In fact, ICTs are enabling the banks to change the way in which they are functioning. Improved customer service has become very important for the very survival and growth of banking sector in the reforms era. The technological advancements, deregulations, and intense competition due to the entry of private sector and foreign banks have altered the face of banking from one of mere intermediation to one of provider of quick, efficient and customer-friendly services. With the introduction and adoption of ICT in the banking sector, the customers are fast moving away from the traditional branch banking system to the convenient and comfort of virtual banking. The most important virtual banking services are phone banking, mobile banking, Internet banking and ATM banking. These electronic channels have enhanced the delivery of banking services accurately and efficiently to the customers. The ATMs are an important part of a bank’s alternative channel to reach the customers, to showcase products and services and to create brand awareness. This is reflected in the increase in the number of ATMs all over the world. ATM is one of the most widely used remote banking services all over the world, including India. This paper analyzes the growth of ATMs of different bank groups in India.
International Scenario
If ATMs are largely available over geographically dispersed areas, the benefit from using an ATM will increase as customers will be able to access their bank accounts from any geographic location. This would imply that the value of an ATM network increases with the number of available ATM locations, and the value of a bank network to a customer will be determined in part by the final network size of the banking system. The statistical information on the growth of branches and ATM network in select countries.
Indian Scenario
The financial services industry in India has witnessed a phenomenal growth, diversification and specialization since the initiation of financial sector reforms in 1991. Greater customer orientation is the only way to retain customer loyalty and withstand competition in the liberalized world. In a market-driven strategy of development, customer preference is of paramount importance in any economy. Gone are the days when customers used to come to the doorsteps of banks. Now the banks are required to chase the customers; only those banks which are customercentric and extremely focused on the needs of their clients can succeed in their business today.
