Arbitration vs Litigation — Guided Choice

Best fits: commercial/payment disputes, vendor/MSME dues, services, SaaS/licensing, franchise/distribution, and many employment/consultancy issues. Avoid or take extra advice on matrimonial, criminal, tenancy (protected), insolvency, and matters that statutes reserve for special forums.

For domestic arbitration, the Act expects an award within 12 months of completion of pleadings (often faster with a documents-only route). Small claims commonly finish in 6–16 weeks when the scope is narrow, evidence is largely documentary, and parties cooperate.

1. Notice of Arbitration (share clause/consent + brief facts). 2. Appointment of sole arbitrator/panel (conflict and fee disclosures). 3. Case-management conference (timetable; online protocols). 4. Pleadings & evidence (PDFs, affidavits, video cross if needed). 5. Hearings (often brief, or none if documents-only). 6. Reasoned award (PDF), followed by enforcement if needed.

Yes. Before the tribunal forms, parties may seek court interim relief. After formation, the tribunal’s interim orders are enforceable like court orders. Many rule-sets also support Emergency Arbitrators who can grant urgent, short-term orders fully online.

An Indian-seat award is enforced like a civil court decree. You apply for execution in the appropriate court. Filing a challenge does not automatically stay enforcement; a stay must be granted by the court (special rule for fraud/corruption allegations may apply).

Yes, but on narrow grounds (e.g., invalid agreement, no notice, bias, beyond scope, public-policy violations). The petition is typically due within 3 months of receiving the award (court may allow 30 extra days for sufficient cause). Most commercial awards survive if the process was fair and reasoned.

Yes, if relevant and properly proved. Keep originals and export logs. Attach a Section 65B electronic-evidence certificate (we generate this automatically) for emails, screenshots, UPI receipts, server logs, etc. Tribunals frequently rely on such records.

Three buckets: arbitrator fees, platform/admin fees, and your counsel. For small claims with a single arbitrator and documents-only, fees are typically far lower than full litigation. Tribunals can award realistic costs (“costs follow the event”) against the losing party.

Keep it short and clear: • Name the rules/institution (or appointing method for ad-hoc). • Fix the seat (city, India) and language. • Prefer one arbitrator for lower values. • Allow video hearings and documents-only if parties/tribunal agree. • Mention interim measures and costs powers. We’ll provide a ready template and a clause-builder.