Arbitration agreement inferred from charter party and communications; court must refer disputes to arbitration when validity is established.

A valid arbitration agreement may be established from a signed charter party together with contemporaneous correspondence, a fixture note, and a bill of lading referring to the shipment arrangement and London forum. Section 7 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 permits an arbitration agreement to be proved through a signed document or exchanged communications, and the arbitration clause need not be reproduced in every document. Section 45 does not require production of the original agreement where existence and authenticity are otherwise shown. Objections to the agreement's existence may also be raised before the arbitral tribunal, which can rule on its own jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether a valid charter party and arbitration agreement existed between the parties so as to require reference of the dispute to arbitration under Section 45 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Analysis: The record showed a signed charter party, contemporaneous correspondence, a fixture note, and a bill of lading referring to the shipment arrangement and the London forum. Section 7 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 recognises an arbitration agreement in a signed document or in exchanged communications evidencing agreement, and does not require the arbitration clause to be reproduced in every communication. The challenge that no original agreement had been filed was rejected because Section 45 does not insist on production of the original where the agreement's existence and authenticity are otherwise established. The Court also noted that objections as to the existence of the agreement could be urged before the arbitral tribunal, which has competence to rule on its own jurisdiction.

Conclusion: A valid arbitration agreement existed and the dispute was rightly referred to arbitration under Section 45 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.

Ratio Decidendi: An arbitration agreement may be inferred from a signed charter party and the surrounding exchange of communications, and once its existence is established, the court must refer the parties to arbitration unless the agreement is shown to be null, void, inoperative, or incapable of being performed.

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