New Delhi, Sept. 7 -- The fine print in a contract can decide not just how a dispute is fought, but where, and at what cost. Leading law firms are urging companies to tighten arbitration clauses in their contracts, as ambiguous drafting continues to trigger disputes over where arbitration should take place and which courts have jurisdiction.

Lawyers say such ambiguity can add as much as 20% to arbitration costs and delay proceedings, as parties may first have to approach courts to settle jurisdiction before the underlying dispute can even be heard.

The problem comes amid a sizeable backlog, with about 2.9 lakh arbitration-related cases currently pending in Indian courts, according to legal-tech and data analytics firm CubicTree.

"Ambig...