Your contract has an arbitration clause. The dispute has arisen. But the other party will not cooperate in appointing an arbitrator, and the process has stalled. Section 11 is the remedy.
Quick Summary
Section 11 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 provides for the appointment of an arbitrator by the High Court where a party fails to appoint an arbitrator within 30 days of receiving a request, or where two appointed arbitrators fail to agree on a third. The Kerala High Court has jurisdiction over Section 11 applications where the seat of arbitration is in Kerala. Following the 2015 and 2019 Amendments, Section 11 applications are decided within 60 days of service of notice and the court's role is limited to examining whether an arbitration agreement exists.
The Supreme Court in Vidya Drolia v. Durga Trading Corporation (2021) confirmed that the test at Section 11 is not an extensive merits review but a prima facie examination of whether the dispute is arbitrable. The court may also refer disputes to the Arbitration Centre of the Kerala High Court for institutional arbitration.
Key references: Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 · Kerala HC Arbitration Centre · India IAC · Supreme Court · Last reviewed: June 2026
The office is located in Kakkanad, Ernakulam. Section 11 appointment matters and other proceedings falling within High Court jurisdiction are handled before the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam. The Kerala High Court Arbitration Centre provides institutional arbitration facilities for arbitrations conducted under its Rules. The practice regularly appears before the Kerala High Court in arbitration appointment matters.
An arbitration clause is only as useful as the mechanism that activates it. When the arbitration agreement calls for a sole arbitrator to be agreed upon by the parties, or for each party to appoint one arbitrator who then jointly appoint a presiding arbitrator, the process depends on cooperation. When that cooperation breaks down, Section 11 provides the solution.
The most common triggers for a Section 11 application are:
The 2015 amendment to the Arbitration Act significantly narrowed the scope of court intervention under Section 11. The High Court's examination at this stage is confined to one question: does a valid arbitration agreement exist between the parties?
The court does not examine:
If a valid arbitration agreement exists, the court must make the appointment. Objections about the merits, limitation, or scope are reserved for the Arbitral Tribunal and post-award proceedings.
The Supreme Court has directed High Courts to dispose of Section 11 applications within 60 days of filing. Actual timelines at the Kerala High Court depend on court load and whether the respondent contests the application. Uncontested matters are typically resolved in 6–10 weeks. Contested matters may take 3–5 months.
Related service
Arbitration lawyers Kerala — practice overviewIf the other party is stalling or refusing to cooperate, a Section 11 application starts the clock on a fixed timeline. The office responds within one working day. NRI and overseas clients are accommodated across time zones.
Contact the Office Section 9 — Asset Protection