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Online Dispute Resolution (ODR)

The hearing room
now fits in your laptop.

DAC actively promotes online dispute resolution across the arbitrations, mediations and conciliations it administers. Filings move electronically, case management is digital, and hearings proceed by secure video conference — with the parties in different cities, the arbitrator presiding, the record preserved, and the award carrying exactly the same legal force as one delivered in a physical hearing room. No travel, no logistics, no delay: only the proceeding itself.

Request an ODR Proceeding How It Works
Hearings by Video ConferenceParties, counsel and witnesses appear from wherever they are; the arbitrator conducts the hearing and the proceedings are recorded.
E-Filing & Digital Case ManagementPleadings, documents and applications move electronically through the Registry — organised, time-stamped and available to the tribunal at a click.
Same Legal ForceThe Act leaves procedure to the parties and the tribunal; an award made after virtual hearings executes as a decree like any other.
Access From AnywhereParties in remote or underserved areas reach the same institution, the same panel and the same justice — without a single journey to Delhi.
Beyond Video Calls

ODR is a system, not just a screen

Online dispute resolution goes beyond digitising traditional arbitration and transcends mere video conferencing. It brings together smart case management, secure digital communication, electronic filing and service, document sharing, and — increasingly — intelligent tools for organising the record, into a single administered workflow. India is undergoing precisely this shift: just as smartphones and affordable data transformed the consumer economy, digital-first dispute resolution is reshaping how justice is delivered, and the Government's expert-committee-led reform of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 expressly contemplates the integration of ODR into arbitration and conciliation.

DAC's position is practical. Technology serves the proceeding — never the other way round. Every ODR reference at DAC remains a proceeding before a human tribunal, on the principles of natural justice, with both parties heard fully and fairly; the technology simply removes the distance, the travel and the delay. And where a matter benefits from it, hybrid proceedings are available — some hearings by video conference, others in person at the Centre's hearing rooms at Tis Hazari.

The Advantages

Why parties choose ODR

Cost-EffectiveNo travel, no accommodation, no facility overheads — for the parties and for the tribunal alike. Costs become smaller and, importantly, predictable.
Faster by DesignHearings are scheduled around availability, not around travel calendars; short procedural hearings that once cost a day now cost thirty minutes.
No DistanceParties, counsel and witnesses in different cities — or countries — attend the same proceeding without a single journey.
Wider Access to JusticeIndividuals, MSMEs and entities in remote or underserved areas reach professional institutional arbitration on equal terms.
Flexible & AdaptableDocuments-only references, virtual hearings, hybrid proceedings — the format is fitted to the dispute, not the reverse.
A Cleaner RecordE-filing and digital case management keep every pleading, document and order organised, time-stamped and instantly retrievable.
Focus on the MeritsA structured on-screen process keeps hearings disciplined and focused on submissions and evidence.
Confidential & SecureProceedings run on secure platforms, access-controlled to the parties and the tribunal, under the confidentiality of Section 42A.
The Process

How an ODR proceeding runs at DAC

Electronic filing with the RegistrarThe Request for Arbitration (or mediation/conciliation), pleadings and documents are filed electronically with the Registrar, DAC, and served on the other side digitally with proof of service preserved.
Appointment and disclosures — onlineThe tribunal is appointed by DAC from its panel; Section 12 disclosures and procedural directions are circulated electronically to all parties.
Digital case managementTimetables, applications, orders and the record are administered through the Registry — every document organised and available to the tribunal and the parties throughout.
Hearings by video conferenceProcedural and final hearings, including recording of evidence and cross-examination, proceed by secure video conference — with hybrid sittings at Tis Hazari where the tribunal so directs.
The award — same force, no discountThe tribunal delivers its reasoned award within the statutory timeline; it binds the parties and executes as a decree under Section 36 exactly as an award made after physical hearings.
The legal footing of virtual proceedings

The Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 does not require physical hearings. Section 19 frees the tribunal from the Code of Civil Procedure and the Evidence Act, and Section 24 leaves the manner of hearings to the parties and the tribunal. Indian courts have consistently recognised the validity of virtual hearings and the recording of evidence by video conferencing. A proceeding conducted online is, in law, simply a proceeding — and its award is simply an award.

Different cities. One hearing. One enforceable award. That is ODR at DAC.

Attend your next hearing from your desk

To commence an ODR proceeding, request virtual hearings in a pending DAC matter, or enquire about the platform and procedure, write to the Registrar, DAC.

Request an ODR Proceeding

[email protected]  ·  +91-9315100181  ·  +91-9315156330

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