https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=279450 Section 11(9) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 confers discretion on the Chief Justice or nominee when appointing an arbitrator in an international commercial arbitration. The use of the word "may" means neutral nationality can be considered, but it is not a compulsory requirement that the sole arbitrator be of a nationality other than that of either party. The provision is therefore directory, not mandatory, and does not require "may" to be read as "must" or "shall". A retired Supreme Court Judge was appointed as sole arbitrator, with arbitral costs and remuneration to be fixed by the arbitrator. en-us Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 18 Mar 2019 13:10:40 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=279450 Section 11(9) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 confers discretion on the Chief Justice or nominee when appointing an arbitrator in an international commercial arbitration. The use of the word "may" means neutral nationality can be considered, but it is not a compulsory requirement that the sole arbitrator be of a nationality other than that of either party. The provision is therefore directory, not mandatory, and does not require "may" to be read as "must" or "shall". A retired Supreme Court Judge was appointed as sole arbitrator, with arbitral costs and remuneration to be fixed by the arbitrator. Case-Laws Indian Laws Tue, 29 Nov 2005 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=279450