(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) "arbitration" means any arbitration whether or not administered by a permanent arbitral institution;
(b) "arbitration agreement" means an agreement referred to in section 7;
(c) "arbitral award" includes an interim award;
(ca) "arbitral institution" means an arbitral institution designated by the Supreme Court or a High Court under this Act;
(d) "arbitral tribunal" means a sole arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators;
(e) "Court" means—
(i) in the case of an arbitration other than international commercial arbitration, the principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction in a district, and includes the High Court in exercise of its ordinary original civil jurisdiction, having jurisdiction to decide the questions forming the subject-matter of the arbitration if the same had been the subject-matter of a suit, but does not include any Civil Court of a grade inferior to such principal Civil Court, or any Court of Small Causes;
(ii) in the case of international commercial arbitration, the High Court in exercise of its ordinary original civil jurisdiction, having jurisdiction to decide the questions forming the subject-matter of the arbitration if the same had been the subject-matter of a suit, and in other cases, a High Court having jurisdiction to hear appeals from decrees of courts subordinate to that High Court;
(f) "international commercial arbitration" means an arbitration relating to disputes arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, considered as commercial under the law in force in India and where at least one of the parties is—
(i) an individual who is a national of, or habitually resident in, any country other than India; or
(ii) a body corporate which is incorporated in any country other than India; or
(iii) an association or a body of individuals whose central management and control is exercised in any country other than India; or
(iv) the Government of a foreign country;
(g) "legal representative" means a person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person, and includes any person who intermeddles with the estate of the deceased, and, where a party acts in a representative character, the person on whom the estate devolves on the death of the party so acting;
(h) "party" means a party to an arbitration agreement.
(2) This Part shall apply where the place of arbitration is in India:
Provided that subject to an agreement to the contrary, the provisions of sections 9, 27 and clause (a) of sub-section (1) and sub-section (3) of section 37 shall also apply to international commercial arbitration, even if the place of arbitration is outside India, and an arbitral award made or to be made in such place is enforceable and recognised under the provisions of Part II of this Act.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 2
The statutory architecture and territorial scope of Indian arbitration law hinge upon the core definitional framework codified in Section 2, establishing the jurisdictional divide between domestic arbitrations and international commercial arbitrations.
Section 2(2) demarcates the territorial applicability of Part I, providing that Part I applies where the place of arbitration is in India, with limited provisions (Sections 9, 27, 37(1)(a), 37(3)) applying to foreign-seated arbitrations unless excluded by agreement.
The definitional framework in Section 2 serves as the bedrock of Indian arbitration jurisprudence. Rigorous adherence to the territorial seat doctrine formulated in BALCO ensures that international arbitrations seated outside India remain free from unwarranted domestic judicial interference.