Report No. 76

1.22. Civil Justice Committee.-

In the twenties of the present century, the Civil Justice Committee was appointed to report on the machinery of Civil Justice. The Report of the Committee contains, inter alia, suggestions for modification of the law of arbitration. Some time passed before action could be taken on the recommendations of the Civil Justice Committee. This was primarily due to the fact that the Government proposed to wait till the expected new English Act was placed on the Statute book after consideration of the Mackinnon Committee on the law of arbitration.

That Committee made its report in 1927, which was followed by the English Act of 1934, and thereafter the way was cleared for action in India. In 1938, the Government of India appointed Shri Ratan Mohan Chatterjee, Attorney-at-Law, as a special officer, for revision of the Law of arbitration, and the revised Act was passed in 1940.

1.23. Position immediately before 1940.-

Thus, before the passing of the arbitration Act of 1940, the law on the subject of arbitration in India was contained in two separate enactments-the Indian Arbitration Act, 1899 and the Second Schedule to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The two have been consolidated in the Act of 1940.