During April 22-23, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) held a two-day hearing in Kathmandu, Nepal, in the arbitration between Indian Potash Limited (India) and Agriculture Inputs Company Limited (Nepal).

This hearing marks the first occasion on which the PCA has held a hearing in Nepal, which is not yet a PCA Member State.

The arbitration, for which the PCA acts as registry, is conducted in conformity with the 2010 UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.

The Tribunal is composed of Honourable Justice (Retired) Mr. S.N. Jha, Honourable Judge (Retired) Mr. Raghab Lal Vaidya, and Dr. Kamal Hossain, who acts as the presiding arbitrator.

The Claimant is represented by its Managing Director Dr. PS Gahlaut, General Manager (PO), Mr. Sangram Singh Sandhawalia, and Ms. Shiva Lakshmi and Mr. Sri Ram Krishna of SKM Advocates & Solicitors in New Delhi, India. The Respondent is represented by its Managing Director, Mr. Shri Ammar Raj Khair, and its Chief of Procurement, Mr. Narayan Marasini, as well as Senior Advocate Purna Man Sakhya, Advocate Prakrit Shrestha, and Advocate Bikalpa Rajbhandari of Reliance Law Firm in Kathmandu, Nepal.

While the PCA’s headquarters at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Netherlands, are available for meetings and hearings in PCA-administered proceedings, the PCA frequently conducts proceedings in other venues.

The PCA is currently administering 110 pending cases, more than 10% of which involve one or several parties from the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) area.