Constitution of the LCIA India Users' Councils
Approved by the LCIA India Board on 11 November 2011
A. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
1. To establish, foster and maintain links between LCIA India and users, and prospective users, of its services, to enable LCIA India to ensure that the arbitration and ADR services it provides to its users are relevant, cost effective, efficient and consistent with current best practice.
2. Through conferences, meetings, publications and personal contacts, to instil in members of the Users’ Councils, and others, confidence in LCIA India’s arbitration and ADR services, such that, whenever appropriate, they adopt, or recommend the adoption of, LCIA India dispute resolution clauses.
B. THE USERS’ COUNCILS
1. LCIA India will establish the following Users’ Councils and may, from time to time, establish others.
(a) The Northern India Users’ Council (comprising of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi).
(b) The Southern India Users’ Council (comprising of Karnataka, Kerala, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar islands).
(c) The Western India Users’ Council (comprising of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli).
(d) The Eastern India Users’ Council (comprising of Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim and the North Eastern States).
C. MEMBERSHIP
1. Membership of the Users’ Councils is open to any person or body of good standing with a bona fide interest in commercial arbitration or ADR, including lawyers, arbitrators, mediators, experts, academics, businessmen, law firms and commercial and trading organisations.
2. Indian members are affiliated to a regional Users’ Council on the basis of their permanent place of residence. Non-Indian members are affiliated to whichever regional Users’ Council they choose.
3. Members shall pay a joining fee and an annual membership subscription, at the rate advised from time to time by LCIA India.
4. The membership of members who do not pay their annual subscription within the period stipulated in the relevant invoice shall be cancelled, though this will not preclude reapplication for membership at a later date.
5. Membership is available at three levels:
(a) individual membership for arbitration and ADR practitioners;
(b) individual membership for full-time academics; and
(c) corporate membership, for firms and businesses, for whom the annual subscription covers up to four individuals from the corporate member’s office or offices, and who may, for an additional subscription, enrol additional members.
6. Application for membership shall be made to the LCIA India Secretariat and shall be supported (in the case of an individual applicant) by a personal résumé or (in the case of a corporate applicant) by information sufficient to confirm its bona fides.
7. Membership may be refused if, in its discretion, LCIA India considers that an applicant does not meet the criteria for membership.
8. Membership may be cancelled if, in its discretion, LCIA India considers that a current member no longer meets the criteria for membership, for reasons that have become known to LCIA India since membership was granted.
D. SERVICES TO MEMBERS
1. Members will receive, free of charge, the quarterly journal “Arbitration International”, which is recognised as one of the leading scholarly journals on the development and application of international commercial arbitration.
2. Members will receive, free of charge, LCIA India’s Newsletter, to which members are invited to submit contributions.
3. Members will enjoy discounted registration fees for selected LCIA India symposia.
4. LCIA India intends, whenever practically possible, to hold at least one symposium or conference each year in the region of each of the Users’ Councils.
5. LCIA India will, in its discretion, on the timely request of a member and where reasonably practical, provide, or recommend, a speaker at a seminar, symposium or conference organised by that member for the promotion of arbitration and ADR.
E. OFFICERS
1. The business of the Users’ Councils will be administered by the LCIA India Secretariat, in consultation with the LCIA India Board and the Officers of each of the Users’ Council, of which there shall be:
(a) a President;
(b) up to 2 Vice Presidents;
(c) up to 6 Councillors; and
(d) a Secretary.
2. Officers shall serve for a period of up to 3 years and shall be eligible for reappointment, provided that no Officer shall be appointed for more than two consecutive terms.
3. The first Officers of each Users’ Council will be selected and appointed by LCIA India.
4. Vacancies arising after the initial appointments will be filled by candidates appointed by the LCIA India Board, following consultation with the then-current Officers.
5. The Officers shall be responsible for recommending to LCIA India of such initiatives and activities as will best meet the aims and objectives set out at Article A of this Constitution.
6. The Officers will, whenever reasonably practical, make themselves available to participate in LCIA India conferences organised under the auspices of the Users’ Council to which they are appointed and to represent LCIA India at such other meetings and presentations as may be organised from time to time in accordance with Article A of this Constitution.
7. The Officers shall meet as often as required and at least once a year, working to an agenda that should routinely include
(a) a report on significant developments in arbitration and ADR practice and procedure within the jurisdiction of the Users’ Council;
(b) a report on any known Court proceedings relating to LCIA India arbitrations and/or Awards;
(c) recommendations to be made to LCIA India pursuant to Article E.7 of this Constitution; and
(d) a report on any symposium held, or to be held, in that year, within the region of their Users’ Council.
8. A quorum for meetings of Officers shall be 3, one of whom shall be the President or a Vice President, who shall also chair the meeting.
9. The decisions of the Officers shall be taken by a simple majority, provided that, in the event of deadlock, the Chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
10. The Officers may, in consultation with LCIA India, establish such committees or working groups, whose members shall be appointed from the membership of their Users’ Council, as may be required to assist with the fulfilment of their obligations under this Constitution and with the achievement of its aims and objectives.
11. Officers of the Users’ Councils shall not be remunerated for their services or reimbursed for the expenses incurred in carrying out their duties.
F. AMENDMENTS
1. The provisions of this Constitution may only be amended with the consent of the LCIA India Board.
