Sections 26-27 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 26 lets the tribunal appoint experts to report on specific issues. Section 27 lets the tribunal, or a party with its approval, ask the Court for help in taking evidence, for example to compel a witness or the production of documents.
Unless otherwise agreed, the tribunal may appoint one or more experts to report on specific issues and require a party to give the expert information or access. If a party asks or the tribunal considers it necessary, the expert takes part in an oral hearing after the report, where the parties can put questions. Under section 27, the tribunal, or a party with the tribunal's approval, may apply to the Court for assistance in taking evidence; the Court may execute the request, issue the same processes to witnesses as in suits, and apply the like penalties for non-attendance, refusal or contempt. This is as per the India Code consolidated text consulted.
Two different tools
An expert helps the tribunal to understand a technical subject, such as the quality of goods, an engineering defect or an accounting calculation. Court assistance deals with the situation where the tribunal has no power of its own to compel a person to appear or to produce a document. Both sections fall within the conduct of proceedings and follow the hearings and default rules; see sections 24 and 25. Section 5 allows a court to act only where Part I provides, and section 27 is such a provision; see sections 5 and 6.
We read both sections from the India Code consolidated text, where they are the last two sections of Chapter V of Part I, "Conduct of arbitral proceedings". Neither section carries a footnote of amendment, and both are printed in full in the body of the text. The wording is quoted below exactly as that text prints it, including section 27(3), under which the Court may "execute the request by ordering that the evidence be provided directly to the arbitral tribunal". If you need an expert or evidence from a reluctant witness, legal dispute resolution support can help you plan the application.
Section 26: expert appointed by the tribunal
Sub-section (1)
"Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal may":
- (a) appoint one or more experts to report to it on specific issues to be determined by the tribunal; and
- (b) require a party to give the expert any relevant information or to produce, or provide access to, any relevant documents, goods or other property for his inspection.
The expert reports to the tribunal, on issues that the tribunal determines. The parties may agree that the tribunal has no such power.
Sub-section (2): the expert at a hearing
"Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if a party so requests or if the arbitral tribunal considers it necessary, the expert shall, after delivery of his written or oral report, participate in an oral hearing where the parties have the opportunity to put questions to him and to present expert witnesses in order to testify on the points at issue."
So a party that disagrees with the report can ask for the expert to be questioned and can bring its own expert witnesses.
Sub-section (3): access to the expert's materials
"Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the expert shall, on the request of a party, make available to that party for examination all documents, goods or other property in the possession of the expert with which he was provided in order to prepare his report." A party can therefore check what the expert worked from. This works together with section 24(3), under which an expert report on which the tribunal may rely is communicated to the parties.
Section 27: court assistance
Sub-section (1): who may apply
"The arbitral tribunal, or a party with the approval of the arbitral tribunal, may apply to the Court for assistance in taking evidence." A party cannot go alone. It needs the tribunal's approval. "Court" has the meaning in section 2(1)(e); see section 2. The proviso to section 2(2) says that, subject to an agreement to the contrary, section 27 also applies to international commercial arbitration even if the place of arbitration is outside India.
Sub-section (2): what the application must specify
| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| (a) | The names and addresses of the parties and the arbitrators |
| (b) | The general nature of the claim and the relief sought |
| (c) | The evidence to be obtained, in particular (i) the name and address of any person to be heard as witness or expert witness and a statement of the subject-matter of the testimony required, and (ii) the description of any document to be produced or property to be inspected |
Sub-section (3): what the Court may do
"The Court may, within its competence and according to its rules on taking evidence, execute the request by ordering that the evidence be provided directly to the arbitral tribunal." Two limits are built in: the Court acts "within its competence" and "according to its rules on taking evidence". The way it executes the request is by an order, and the evidence goes directly to the tribunal, not to the Court's own file for decision.
Sub-section (4): processes
The Court may, while making an order under sub-section (3), issue the same processes to witnesses as it may issue in suits tried before it.
Sub-section (5): penalties
Persons failing to attend in accordance with such process, or making any other default, or refusing to give their evidence, or guilty of any contempt to the arbitral tribunal during the conduct of arbitral proceedings, shall be subject to the like disadvantages, penalties and punishments by order of the Court on the representation of the arbitral tribunal as they would incur for the like offences in suits tried before the Court. The penalties are therefore the court's own penalties for such conduct in a suit. The text consulted does not list them, and we list none.
Sub-section (6): "Processes"
"Processes" includes summonses and commissions for the examination of witnesses and summonses to produce documents.
Putting them side by side
| Point | Section 26 | Section 27 |
|---|---|---|
| Who acts | The tribunal | The Court, on application |
| Purpose | Specialist report on specific issues | Taking evidence: witnesses, documents, inspection |
| Who asks | Tribunal appoints; a party may request the expert's attendance | Tribunal, or a party with the tribunal's approval |
| Can parties exclude it? | Yes: "unless otherwise agreed" | Sub-section (1) has no such opening words |
| Output | Report to the tribunal | Evidence provided directly to the tribunal |
A worked example
Fernandes Marine and Bhandari Shipping dispute the condition of a vessel's engine. The tribunal appoints a marine engineer under section 26(1)(a) to report on the cause of the engine failure and requires Bhandari to give the engineer access to the engine room and logbooks under (b). Fernandes asks that the engineer attend a hearing to be questioned, and under sub-section (2) he does so. Separately, a former port official who holds relevant records will not attend voluntarily. With the tribunal's approval, Fernandes applies to the Court under section 27(1), setting out what sub-section (2) requires. The Court may issue a summons as in a suit, and if the official then defies it, the tribunal may represent the matter to the Court under sub-section (5).
Practical steps
- Agree or propose an expert early, and decide whether the parties will accept the tribunal's choice.
- Ask for the expert's materials under section 26(3).
- Seek the tribunal's approval first before any section 27 application.
- Prepare the application to include the three items in section 27(2).
- Do not expect the tribunal to compel witnesses itself; the text consulted gives the compulsion route through the Court.
- Treat appeals as a separate subject. Which orders can be appealed is set out in section 37; see our article on section 37 and appealable orders.
Need help with an expert or evidence application?
A technical dispute may turn on the expert, and a missing witness can stall a hearing. Our legal dispute resolution team can help you frame the issues for an expert, prepare a section 27 application and keep the tribunal's approval on record.
Key takeaways
- The tribunal may appoint experts and require parties to give them information and access, unless otherwise agreed.
- The expert attends an oral hearing on request or if the tribunal thinks it necessary; parties may question the expert and bring expert witnesses.
- Under section 27, only the tribunal, or a party with its approval, may apply to the Court for assistance in taking evidence.
- The Court may issue the same processes to witnesses as in suits and apply the like penalties, on the tribunal's representation.
- Under section 27(3) the Court executes the request by ordering that the evidence be provided directly to the tribunal.
Read next
- Sections 24 and 25: hearings, written proceedings and default
- Sections 28 and 29: substantive law and decision by panel
- Sections 5 and 6: judicial intervention and administrative assistance
- Arbitral tribunal procedure: sections 18 to 27
Disclaimer: Based on the India Code consolidated text of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, whose footnotes show amendments up to Act 3 of 2021 and a latest date of 12 October 2023, as consulted on 2 October 2026. Rules, regulations and notifications under the Act, later amendments and the commencement of the Mediation Act, 2023 should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.