Critical Analysis of the Jurisprudential Development of Seat versus Venue Debate in Arbitration

The significant increase in the number of choices for arbitration centres across the globe has made it critical for the parties to the arbitration agreement to make the choice after careful evaluation and specific description of the same in the agreement. The fundamentals of “seat” and “venue”, even though significant in arbitration matters, have not been specified in the legislation. The two words have been through a long journey through various judicial interpretations and tests to determine what can be considered as a seat and venue. This article is an analytical study of the said journey of interpreting the two terms through multiple court decisions. This article throws light on the importance of seat and venue in arbitration matters, the legislative analysis, a detailed analysis of the various tests established by the judiciary to determine the existence of seat or venue, and a conclusion to establish the meaning and interpretation of Seat and Venue that exists and is applicable at present.