Zaiwalla & Co has acted for
Indian banks, state entities,
shipowners, traders and private individuals
since the Firm was founded in 1982
Chambers and Partners ranks us among the top international dispute resolution specialist firms UK-wide and the Legal 500 ranks us for commodities disputes in London noting our long-standing GAFTA work for South Asian clients.
We are a City of London firm practising the law of England and Wales. We have lawyers who are dual-qualified in England and India. Sarosh Zaiwalla represented India on the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC in Paris for 12 years, from 1990 to 2002, conducted over 1,000 arbitrations for the Government of India between 1982 and 1994, and was appointed solicitor to the High Commission of India in London in our early years.
Our Indian clients have included the State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Bank of Baroda, ICICI, Indian Oil Corporation, ONGC, the Shipping Corporation of India, Essar Shipping, MMTC, the Food Corporation of India, PEC Limited, Zee Television, Air India, ISRO, the Steel Authority of India and the GMR Group, alongside Shri Amitabh Bachchan, Shri Gopichand Hinduja and Shri Kartar Lalvani.
How was our India
practice built?
Our Indian work began with grain. India imported 6.57 million tonnes of wheat in 1964 to 1965 against domestic production of 12.26 million tonnes, most of it under the United States PL-480 programme, and almost every charterparty carrying that cargo produced a London maritime arbitration. The Food Corporation of India, created under the Food Corporations Act 1964, became a repeat party in the English courts, and that trade brought us our first Indian instructions.
The reported decisions from those years reached the House of Lords repeatedly, in cargo, salvage, laytime and demurrage disputes arising from the wheat programme. Sarosh Zaiwalla acted in President of India v La Pintada Compania Navigacion SA [1985] AC 104, the first ever win for the Indian Government in the House of Lords, and in Union of India v McDonnell Douglas Corporation [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 48, where Saville J held on 22nd December 1992 that naming London as the seat brought in English arbitral procedural law and English court supervision, while the Indian Arbitration Act 1940 governed only the internal conduct of the reference.
Our expertise
We act for Indian corporates, public sector undertakings, banks and individuals in the Commercial Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, and in GAFTA, FOSFA, LMAA, LCIA and ICC arbitration, whether you are claimant or respondent. Our Indian work includes:
Commodities and grain disputes
Commodities and grain disputes under GAFTA and FOSFA rules, including quality, shortage, default and damages claims
Charterparty and bill of lading disputes
Charterparty and bill of lading disputes in maritime arbitration and the Commercial Court, covering laytime, demurrage, cargo damage and misdelivery
Section 67, 68 and 69 challenges to London awards
Section 67, 68 and 69 challenges to London awards under the Arbitration Act 1996, as amended by the Arbitration Act 2025
• Banking and trade finance disputes
Banking and trade finance disputes for Indian banks, including letters of credit, performance bonds and guarantee claims
Jurisdiction challenges
Jurisdiction challenges where an Indian party is sued in England, including State Immunity Act 1978 arguments for state entities
Enforcement of English judgments
Enforcement of English judgments and London awards against Indian assets, and resisting enforcement in England of Indian awards
Fraud, asset tracing and freezing injunctions
Fraud, asset tracing and freezing injunctions, and defending claims brought by Indian banks and public bodies
Sanctions advice
Sanctions advice where Indian refiners, traders or shipping counterparties are exposed to Russia measures
Energy, infrastructure and construction disputes
Energy, infrastructure and construction disputes, and investment treaty claims for Indian investors and state entities
Past and present cases
We have 125 reported cases
in the United Kingdom
A high number of cases for a firm of our size, and our landmark matters include a run of Indian instructions. In Punjab National Bank v Srinivasan [2019] EWHC 89 (Ch), we acted for eight defendants and defeated a US$45 million claim on a jurisdiction challenge, a result independently recorded by Chambers and Partners.
In PEC Ltd v Asia Golden Rice Co [2014] EWHC 1583 (Comm), we overturned a GAFTA award for PEC Limited, an Indian government entity, when Andrew Smith J held on 20th May 2014 that the signatories had neither actual nor apparent authority to conclude the purchase agreement, so PEC had made no arbitration agreement and the GAFTA tribunal had no jurisdiction.
The UK India trade agreement, known as CETA, entered into force on 15th July 2026, having been signed on 24th July 2025, and the trade deal documents are already changing how Indian exporters and UK importers write their supply and dispute clauses. We are advising on governing law, seat and enforcement provisions drafted for the new trade flows.
In 2024 we acted for the Indian trading house Sharp Corp in Sharp Corp Ltd v Viterra BV [2024] UKSC 14, where the Supreme Court ruled on the scope of the Court of Appeal’s powers under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 and on the measure of damages applied by a GAFTA tribunal, then remitted the awards to the GAFTA Appeal Board.
We also acted for Air India against HM Revenue and Customs in a long-contested dispute over several million pounds of customs duties, and for ITC in a section 69 appeal against a GAFTA award in the High Court.
Speak to our team
When it comes to cross-border disputes involving Indian and UK parties, our experience is unmatched. To make an appointment with one of our team, please phone +44 20 7312 1000 or email info@zaiwalla.co.uk.
Frequently asked questions
Can a London firm handle an Indian dispute?
Yes, where the contract is governed by English law, the seat of the arbitration is in England and Wales, or the assets or the counterparty are within the reach of the English courts. English solicitors advising Indian clients from London are unaffected by the Bar Council of India rules. A dispute that must be litigated in India needs Indian advocates, and we work alongside them.
Which law governs your London seated arbitration?
Two laws usually apply at once. Indian law can govern the substance of the contract while English law governs the arbitration itself, because naming London as the seat brings in the Arbitration Act 1996 and the supervisory jurisdiction of the English court, which section 3 of the Arbitration Act 1996 calls “the juridical seat of the arbitration”. In Union of India v McDonnell Douglas Corporation [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Law Rep. 48 (1992), the Commercial Court held that a reference to Indian arbitration procedure imported only the provisions governing the internal conduct of the reference and could not exclude the English court’s supervision of an arbitration in England.
Can foreign lawyers appear in Indian courts?
No. Under the Bar Council of India rules for foreign lawyers and foreign law firms, registered foreign lawyers may practise foreign law and international arbitration work in non-litigious matters only, and may not appear before any Indian court, tribunal or regulatory authority. Practice without registration is limited to a fly-in and fly-out basis capped at 60 days in any 12 month period. The rules were gazetted in March 2023 and amended in May 2025.
How do you enforce a judgment in India?
The enforcement of a judgment in India depends on whether the judgment originates from a country with which India has a reciprocal enforcement arrangement under the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933. If such an arrangement exists, the judgment can be registered and enforced in India under the Indian Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, provided it meets the conditions of finality, conclusiveness, and enforceability in the original jurisdiction. If no reciprocal arrangement exists, the judgment creditor must initiate fresh proceedings in India based on the foreign judgment, treating it as evidence of a debt.
Enforcement in India is generally slower than enforcing a London arbitration award. This is because India is a signatory to the New York Convention 1958, which simplifies the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Under the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (ACA 1996), foreign arbitral awards are enforceable unless they fall within the narrow refusal grounds under Article V of the New York Convention, such as public policy violations or lack of proper notice.
What changed under the UK India trade agreement?
The trade agreement between the United Kingdom and India, CETA, was signed on 24th July 2025 and entered into force on 15th July 2026. It cuts tariffs across goods sectors and makes commitments on services, procurement and mobility. For contracts, the consequence is new trade volumes running on documentation written for the old tariff position, so governing law, seat and price adjustment clauses need revisiting.
What is your next step?
Send us the contract, the arbitration or jurisdiction clause by email to info@zaiwalla.co.uk or by telephone on +44 20 7312 1000. We will tell you whether the English court or an English seated tribunal has jurisdiction, what your Indian counterparty can do to resist it, and the next best steps towards achieve the results you want.