Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation · Emerging Aspects: Fast Track and Virtual Arbitration

Place and Seat of Arbitration in Virtual Proceedings

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Under Section 20, parties are free to agree the place of arbitration. If they do not, the tribunal fixes it, having regard to the circumstances and the convenience of the parties. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the tribunal may meet anywhere for consultation, hearings or inspection. This supports virtual hearings without changing the agreed place.

Understand Place and Seat of Arbitration in Virtual Proceedings

Every arbitration is tied to a place. The place matters because it usually decides which court supervises the arbitration and which procedural law applies. Section 20 is the rule that tells you how that place is fixed.

Section 20(1) gives the parties full freedom to agree the place. Section 20(2) applies only when they have not agreed. Then the arbitral tribunal decides, having regard to the circumstances of the case, including the convenience of the parties.

Section 20(3) is the most useful one for virtual proceedings. Even after the place is fixed, the tribunal may, unless the parties have otherwise agreed, meet at any place it considers appropriate. The purposes listed are consultation among its members, hearing witnesses, experts or the parties, and inspection of documents, goods or other property. So holding hearings away from the place does not move the place.

Students often use seat and venue as if they were the same. The Act uses the word "place". In practice, the seat is the legal home of the arbitration, while the venue is where meetings and hearings physically happen. Courts have developed this distinction, and you should use it in answers. Apply it to online arbitration: parties and arbitrators may sit in different cities or countries on a video link, but the agreed place (seat) stays the same. Section 20(3) does not mention video links in terms. The point that virtual hearings fit within it is an interpretation, so word your answer that way.

If the agreement is silent and the hearing is fully online, the tribunal should record the place in a procedural order. Say clearly that the hearings are held by video, and that the place is the one fixed for legal purposes. This avoids later disputes about jurisdiction and about where the award is treated as made.

Key rules to remember

Section 20(1): agreed place: Place of arbitration = place agreed by the parties; The parties are free to agree. Their agreement comes first.
Section 20(2): default rule: No agreement → tribunal decides, having regard to the circumstances of the case, including the convenience of the parties; Applies only when the parties have not agreed on the place.
Section 20(3): meeting elsewhere: Unless otherwise agreed, tribunal may meet at any place it considers appropriate for consultation, hearing witnesses, experts or parties, or inspection of documents, goods or property; This is the base for hearings away from the place, including virtual hearings (by interpretation). The parties can restrict it by agreement.
Section 69(2): conciliation contrast: No agreed place → conciliator decides, after consulting the parties, having regard to the circumstances; In conciliation the conciliator, not a tribunal, fixes the place, and must consult the parties.
Seat vs venue (working distinction): Seat = legal place of arbitration; Venue = location of meetings and hearings; A judicial distinction, not defined in Section 20. Use it to explain why virtual hearings do not shift the seat.

How to solve Place and Seat of Arbitration in Virtual Proceedings questions

Use this order for any question on place, seat or virtual hearings.

1Read the facts and note whether the arbitration agreement names a place, city or institution.
2If it does, apply Section 20(1): the agreed place stands, as parties are free to agree it.
3If it does not, apply Section 20(2): the tribunal decides, having regard to the circumstances and convenience of the parties. List the facts that bear on convenience.
4Separate the place (seat) from where hearings are actually held. Apply Section 20(3): the tribunal may meet at any place it considers appropriate, unless the parties have otherwise agreed.
5For online hearings, state that a video link is a way of conducting the hearing and does not by itself change the agreed place. Mention that this rests on interpretation of Section 20(3).
6Check whether the parties have agreed anything that limits Section 20(3), such as in-person hearings only.
7Conclude clearly and add the practical step: record the place and the mode of hearing in a procedural order.

Quickest way: Agree, Default, Meet

When to use it: Use when time is short and the question asks who decides the place or whether a virtual hearing is valid.

Agree: did the parties fix the place? Section 20(1) applies.
Default: if not, the tribunal fixes it under Section 20(2), with convenience of parties in mind.
Meet: for hearings, the tribunal may meet anywhere appropriate under Section 20(3), unless the parties agreed otherwise.
Close with one line: virtual hearing does not change the place.

Common mistakes in Place and Seat of Arbitration in Virtual Proceedings

Saying the tribunal always decides the place.
Students remember sub-section (2) and forget that it applies only on failure of agreement.
Fix: Start with Section 20(1). The parties decide first. The tribunal decides only if they have not agreed.
Treating seat and venue as identical.
Both words are used loosely in everyday talk and the section uses only "place".
Fix: Define seat as the legal place and venue as where hearings are held. Say that Section 20(3) lets hearings happen elsewhere without moving the seat.
Claiming that Section 20(3) overrides the parties' agreement.
The opening words "Notwithstanding sub-section (1) or (2)" are read as overriding everything.
Fix: Quote the words "unless otherwise agreed by the parties". The parties can restrict where the tribunal meets.
Saying Section 20 expressly permits online hearings.
Students want a direct textual hook for virtual arbitration.
Fix: Say that Section 20(3) allows meeting at any place the tribunal considers appropriate, and that virtual hearings are supported on that basis. Do not claim the section mentions video links.
Mixing up Section 20 with Section 69.
Both deal with place and are in the same Act.
Fix: Section 20 is arbitration and the tribunal fixes the place. Section 69 is conciliation and the conciliator fixes it after consulting the parties.

Worked examples

Example 1

Meridian Components Ltd, Pune, and Kaveri Traders, Chennai, have an arbitration clause that does not mention any place. The tribunal has three members in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Who decides the place of arbitration and on what basis?

Show the solution

The agreement is silent on place, so Section 20(1) gives no answer. The parties have not agreed.
Section 20(2) applies: the tribunal determines the place.
The tribunal must have regard to the circumstances of the case, including the convenience of the parties.
Here it would look at where the parties are based, where the contract was performed, where the witnesses and documents are, and the cost of travel.
It should record the chosen place in a procedural order and communicate it to both parties.

Answer: The tribunal decides the place under Section 20(2), having regard to the circumstances including the convenience of the parties. It should record the decision in a procedural order.

Example 2

The arbitration agreement between Sundaram Infra Pvt Ltd and Bharat Steel Ltd fixes Hyderabad as the place of arbitration. The tribunal holds all hearings on video, with the members in different cities, and neither party objects. A party later argues that the place has moved. Advise.

Show the solution

The parties agreed Hyderabad, so Section 20(1) fixes the place. The tribunal cannot change an agreed place.
Section 20(3) allows the tribunal, unless the parties have otherwise agreed, to meet at any place it considers appropriate for consultation and for hearing the parties, witnesses and experts.
Holding hearings elsewhere, or by video, concerns where and how the tribunal meets. It is the venue of the hearings, not the legal place.
Virtual hearings fit this power by interpretation, since the section lets the tribunal choose how and where it meets. Here neither party objected.
Check the agreement for any term requiring in-person hearings. If there is none, nothing restricts the tribunal.

Answer: The place remains Hyderabad. Video hearings are covered by the tribunal's power under Section 20(3) to meet at any appropriate place, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. The argument that the place has moved fails.

Exam tips

Write the three limbs in order: agreement (20(1)), default by tribunal (20(2)), meeting elsewhere (20(3)).
Always quote "unless otherwise agreed by the parties" when discussing Section 20(3).
In case-based answers, state the provision, apply the facts, then conclude. Name the place clearly in the conclusion.
Use the seat and venue distinction briefly, and say it is a judicial concept, not a statutory definition.
If the question mentions conciliation, contrast with Section 69(2) in one line.

Practice questions from Emerging Aspects: Fast Track and Virtual Arbitration

Place and Seat of Arbitration in Virtual Proceedings: frequently asked questions

How is the place of arbitration determined if the parties do not agree?

The arbitral tribunal determines it under Section 20(2). It must have regard to the circumstances of the case, including the convenience of the parties.

What is the difference between seat and venue of arbitration?

The seat is the legal place of the arbitration. The venue is where meetings and hearings are physically held. Section 20 uses the word place, and the seat and venue distinction comes from court decisions.

Can a tribunal hold hearings at a different place from the agreed place?

Yes. Under Section 20(3), unless the parties have otherwise agreed, the tribunal may meet at any place it considers appropriate for consultation, hearings or inspection. This does not change the agreed place.

Does Section 20 allow online arbitration hearings?

The section does not mention video links. Virtual hearings are supported by the tribunal's power to meet at any place it considers appropriate, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. The agreed place stays the same.