Arbitration Agreement – Scope of Arbitrator’s Jurisdiction

Arbitration being a matter of contract, the parties are entitled to fix boundaries as to confer and limit the jurisdiction and legal authority of the arbitrator. An arbitration agreement can be comprehensive and broad to include any dispute or could be confined to specific disputes. The issue of scope of arbitrator’s jurisdiction invariably arises when the disputes that are arbitrable are enumerated or the arbitration agreement provides for exclusions as in case of excepted matters. The arbitration agreement may be valid, but the Arbitral Tribunal in view of the will of the parties expressed in the arbitration agreement, may not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute. The will of the parties as to the scope of arbitration is a subjective act and personal to the parties. Vidya Drolia v. Durga Trading Corporation, (2021) 2 SCC 1.