Why India’s commercial tribunals need reforms—few judges with domain expertise, executive control, delays
Tribunals have distinct problems compared to courts, such as the need for more judges with specialised or technical knowledge of the law, the necessity for faster and more economical methods of adjudication, and the lack of finality when it comes to their decisions, former Supreme Court judge Justice Shiva Kirti Singh said Thursday.
Reforming tribunals: Rising vacancies at the top are hampering efficiency
Tribunals were set up to offer swift, cost-effective, and decentralised resolution to legal disputes. The principal idea was that these quasi-judicial bodies would comprise members with specific sector expertise to deliver better-informed judgments relatively swiftly, reducing the caseload on regular courts. It is deeply concerning, therefore, to discover that India’s commercial tribunals in particular suffer from the same infirmities as the regular judicial system.
Commercial tribunals’ case backlog ties up 7.5% of India’s GDP: Study
India’s commercial tribunals are grappling with a mounting backlog of 356,000 cases, worth ₹24.72 trillion, as of September, according to a study by legal think-tank DAKSH. The value of these pending cases amounts to about 7.48 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) for 2024-25, the think-tank estimates in its State of Tribunals 2025 report.
State of Tribunals 2025: A Baseline Report on India’s Commercial Tribunals
DAKSH is pleased to invite you to the launch of its landmark report “State of Tribunals 2025: A Baseline Report on India’s Commercial Tribunals." This is the first report under DAKSH's ongoing Transforming Tribunals Project, an initiative undertaken to influence meaningful reform in India’s commercial adjudication system. This launch is being organised in collaboration with our Advocacy Partner, The Quantum Hub, a public policy firm.
Odisha Government Seeks Bids for AI-Powered Judicial Petition Drafting System Amid Privacy Concerns
The Odisha government has released a tender to develop, maintain, and operate an AI-based Judicial Petition Response Drafting System, as it plans to automate the judicial petition response generation process.
Why ICAI’s audit limit is misguided and outdated
From FY 2027, each partner in a CA firm will be allowed to sign no more than 60 tax audit reports a year—a proposal the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) says will “improve audit quality and manage workload.”
Delayed justice plagues India. The 16th Finance Commission has the power to improve matters
The clocks of justice in India tick much slower than any citizen would hope. At the time of writing this article, 5.22 crore cases are pending across all levels of courts in India. Quasi-judicial bodies like the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) also have large backlogs.
