A quiet, oak-panelled chambers library with warm lamplight and shelves of bound volumes

Arbitration · Mediation · Conciliation

Disputes resolved out ofthe headlines.

A private chambers in New Delhi for commercial parties who would rather settle a matter than see it reported. Considered, discreet, and final.

Institutional & ad-hoc references Confidential by default 25+ years at the New Delhi bar

The chambers

We are a small panel of arbitrators and mediators who resolve commercial disputes privately — before they become litigation, before they become news, and before they cost a relationship worth keeping.

  • I.Seat — New Delhi, with hearings arranged where the parties prefer.
  • II.References — institutional (ICA, DIAC, MCIA) and ad-hoc under the 1996 Act.
  • III.Temperament — commercial, unhurried, and unfailingly confidential.
Two parties shaking hands across a table over signed documents at the close of a mediation
A settlement, reached in the room

What we do

Three routes to the same end — a matter closed, quietly.

Every dispute has a temperature. We choose the process that fits it: binding where finality is needed, facilitated where a relationship must survive.

I Arbitration

A binding award, in private.

Institutional and ad-hoc references under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 — domestic and India-seated international commercial arbitration. We manage the reference from constitution of the tribunal to a reasoned, enforceable award, including emergency and expedited procedures.

CommercialInfrastructureEnforcement

II Mediation

A settlement, on your terms.

Confidential, without-prejudice negotiation guided by a neutral third party. Best where the commercial relationship — a joint venture, a supply line, a family business — is worth more than the point in dispute. We draft settlements that hold.

ShareholderJoint venturePartnership

III Conciliation

A guided middle path.

A structured process under Part III of the Act in which the conciliator may propose terms of settlement. Useful where the parties want more than a facilitator — they want a considered view — while keeping the outcome in their own hands.

ContractualStatutoryAdvisory
An elegant wood-panelled chamber with a skylight, arranged for a private hearing
An arbitration succeeds when both parties leave with their commercial relationship — and their reputations — intact. That is the whole of our craft.

Aldercourt Chambers

The panel

Few names, chosen for the matter.

We are deliberately small. Every reference is heard by a member who has sat with disputes of its kind before — not by whoever is free.

Meera Aldercourt

Founding Arbitrator

Founder of the chambers. 25+ years at the New Delhi bar across commercial and infrastructure references, institutional and ad-hoc.

Commercial · Infrastructure

Aravind Menon

Presiding Arbitrator

Sits on construction, energy and concession disputes with a particular ear for delay and quantum. Known for tight, well-reasoned awards.

Construction · Energy · Quantum

Rukmini Iyer

Senior Mediator & Conciliator

An accredited commercial mediator for shareholder, joint-venture and family-business disputes, where continuity matters as much as outcome.

Mediation · Shareholder

Faisal Qureshi

Arbitrator & Counsel

Handles technology, distribution and post-acquisition disputes, including emergency arbitration and interim relief where speed is decisive.

Technology · Post-M&A

Portrait of a senior arbitrator in a dark suit, hands folded, in a considered pose Presiding Arbitrator
Parties do not come to us for a spectacle. They come because they have a business to run on Monday, and they need this behind them by then — cleanly, and without an audience.
Aravind Menon Presiding Arbitrator, Aldercourt Chambers

How a reference runs

From first enquiry to final award.

A clear path, so that the only thing uncertain is the merits — never the procedure.

i

Confidential enquiry

A first, without-obligation conversation about the dispute, the parties and any arbitration clause. Held in strict confidence, whether or not you proceed.

Day one
ii

Preliminary conference

We agree the process — arbitration, mediation or conciliation — the seat, the timetable and the rules that will govern the reference.

Week one
iii

Appointment & terms of reference

The tribunal is constituted, terms of reference are settled and a procedural order fixes the shape of everything that follows.

Weeks 2–4
iv

Hearings & sessions

Written submissions, documents and, where needed, oral hearings — conducted privately, efficiently and on the agreed timetable.

As scheduled
v

Award or settlement

A reasoned, enforceable award — or a signed settlement — disclosed to the parties alone, and to no one else.

The close
A fountain pen resting on a signed agreement on a desk, the terms turned face-down

Confidentiality

What happens here stays here.

Privacy is not a courtesy we offer; it is the reason clients choose a chambers over a courtroom. Our undertakings are written, and they are absolute.

  • No public record.

    Proceedings are private by default — there are no open filings and no cause list to read.

  • Written undertakings.

    Every member and member of staff is bound by a signed confidentiality undertaking before a matter opens.

  • Contained disclosure.

    Awards and settlements are disclosed to the parties alone; documents leave chambers only on your instruction.

  • Discreet handling.

    Secure storage, careful scheduling and, where you ask, no reference to the matter by name in any correspondence.

25+
Years at the bar
300+
References concluded
100%
Confidential by default
3
Routes to resolution
A historic sandstone monument in New Delhi at golden hour, framed by palms

New Delhi · Lodhi Estate

Begin, discreetly.

Tell us as much or as little as you like. The first consultation is complimentary, held in confidence, and puts you under no obligation to proceed.