New Delhi, July 12 -- Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Saturday delivered a candid assessment of India's arbitration landscape, warning that the country's ambition of becoming a preferred global arbitration seat would remain elusive unless it bridges the gap between legislative intent and institutional implementation. Highlighting what he described as a "credibility deficit", the CJI pointed to the continued non-constitution of the Arbitration Council of India (ACI), despite its creation through the 2019 amendments to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, and the long-pending draft legislation proposing the next round of reforms. "The Arbitration Council of India was created on statute-book by the 2019 amendment to grade institutions and accredit arbitrators. Six years later, it has still not been constituted," said the CJI while delivering the inaugural address at the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Indian Institute of Arbitration and Mediation (IIAM) in New Delhi. Referring to the Draft Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, first circulated for public consultation in October 2024 on the recommendations of the TK Viswanathan Committee and now expected to be introduced in Parliament, Justice Kant said legislation alone cannot build confidence in India's arbitration ecosystem. "If our ambition is to become a preferred seat, this gap between announcement and implementation is precisely the credibility deficit we cannot legislate our way out of," he remarked. The Draft Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill seeks to deepen institutional arbitration by reducing judicial intervention, recognising emergency arbitration, streamlining timelines, clarifying the distinction between the seat and venue of arbitration and introducing several procedural reforms based on the recommendations of the expert committee headed by former law secretary Viswanathan. The Union law ministry had invited public comments on the draft in October 2024, describing the exercise as part of its effort to strengthen institutional arbitration and improve ease of doing business. The CJI underscored that the reforms acquire added urgency given the burden on the conventional justice delivery system....