- (1.) In the present case, an Exclusive Distribution Agreement was entered into by the petitioner with the respondent. The arbitration clause contained in the said Agreement reads as follows:- "All disputes arising in connection with this agreement shall be finally settled under the rules of conciliation and arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce by one or more Arbitrators appointed in accordance with the said Rules."
(2.) A suit was filed in the High Court of Calcutta with respect to the same subject-matter by the petitioner herein in which a Section 8 application under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 succeeded. By an order dated 01.12.2003, the Calcutta High Court referred the parties to arbitration. Thereafter, the petitioner knocked at the doors of the Tribunal of Commerce at Garassee in France, which held, by an order dated 06.09.2004, that in view of the arbitration clause between the parties, it was not possible for the said Tribunal to go into the dispute.
(3.) It is only thereafter, that the petitioner approached the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris under Article 18 of the ICC Rules and filed a claim of Rs. 20,40,45,000/- against the respondent. Under the ICC Rules, half of the estimated costs have to be paid by the petitioner and the other half by the respondent.;