Disortho S.A.S. v. Meril Life Sciences Private Limited 2025 INSC 352- Arbitration Agreement - Lex Arbitri

Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 - Matters such as filling vacancies on arbitral tribunals and the removal of an arbitrator through the exercise of supervisory jurisdiction, in the absence of a clear mechanism within the arbitration agreement, should be normally governed by the law applicable to the arbitration agreement itself, rather than by the procedural rules that govern the arbitration process. It is, after all, the lex arbitri that governs the arbitration and its associated processes. (Para 11) The mere choice of ‘place’ is not sufficient, in the absence of other relevant factors, to override the presumption in favor of the lex contractus. (Para 31)

Interpretation of Contracts- To resolve conflicts between competing or inconsistent clauses, the court should read the contract as a whole, striving to give effect to all its provisions. One clause may influence the content of another, and a clause should not be rejected unless it is clearly inconsistent or repugnant to the rest of the agreement- Only when such a reconciliation is not possible will the court consider one clause to prevail over an incorporated standard clause should not be dismissed as redundant unless it is manifestly inconsistent with or repugnant to the rest of the agreement. (Para 26)