The India Digital ADR Summit 2026, organised by the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, through its International Digital Dispute Resolution Centre (IDDRC), is set to be held on 12 and 13 September 2026 at NFSU, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The two-day summit will bring together judges, senior advocates, arbitrators, mediators, legal scholars, policymakers, industry leaders, technology experts and researchers to deliberate on the evolving landscape of Dispute Resolution in the digital era.
About International Digital Dispute Resolution Centre
The IDDRC is a specialised institutional initiative of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gandhinagar established to advance technology-enabled, efficient and secure dispute resolution. The Centre operates through a professional Secretariat, formally notified procedural rules and a curated panel of experts and practitioners.
Board of Governors
The IDDRC is guided by an eminent Board of Governors comprising distinguished members of the judiciary and legal profession:
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Justice Anil R. Dave — Former Judge, Supreme Court of India; President, IDDRC
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Justice Rajesh Bindal — Former Judge, Supreme Court of India
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Justice M. R. Shah — Former Judge, Supreme Court of India
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Justice Sonia Gokani — Former Chief Justice, Gujarat High Court
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Justice P. P. Bhatt — Former Judge, Gujarat High Court
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Gourab Banerji— Senior Advocate and President, Arbitration Bar of India
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Ratan Singh — Senior Advocate and Chairman, Society of Construction Law, India
About India Digital ADR Summit
The Summit provides a collaborative forum to explore how digital innovation is transforming arbitration, mediation, and access to justice, while also addressing the legal, ethical, procedural, cybersecurity, and institutional challenges arising from the increasing use of technology in dispute resolution.
Summit Vision
The Summit seeks to foster meaningful dialogue on the future of Alternative Dispute Resolution by promoting innovation, collaboration, and thought leadership within an increasingly digital and interconnected legal ecosystem.
Key Themes
The Summit focuses on emerging and critical areas in Digital ADR, including:
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Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and technology-enabled dispute resolution;
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Artificial Intelligence and its applications in arbitration and mediation;
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Digital evidence and evidentiary challenges;
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Procedural fairness and due process in digital proceedings;
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Cybersecurity, data protection, and confidentiality;
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Cross-border digital dispute resolution; and
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The broader impact of technological innovation on access to justice.
Round Table Discussions
A key feature of the Summit is its interactive round table discussions, led by eminent experts and practitioners. These sessions facilitate the exchange of practical experiences, academic perspectives, and policy insights on contemporary developments and emerging challenges in Digital ADR.
Research and Knowledge Creation
The Summit aims to document and consolidate the deliberations and insights emerging from its sessions, thereby identifying research themes and areas for further scholarly engagement. This knowledge-building initiative is intended to contribute to sustained academic discourse and future scholarship in the field of technology-enabled dispute resolution.
Collaborative Platform
The Summit serves as a platform for strengthening collaboration among judicial officers, legal practitioners, arbitrators, mediators, academics, policymakers, and institutional leaders. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, it seeks to foster meaningful partnerships and encourage innovation, policy development, capacity building, and excellence in dispute resolution.
Key Discussions
The first day of the summit will commence with an Inaugural on “Artificial Intelligence in Arbitration: Enhancing Decision-Making Without Replacing Human Judgment.”
This will be followed by a panel discussion on “India as a Global Arbitration Hub: Building a Competitive and Technology-Enabled Arbitration Ecosystem.”
The round table will focus on “Building India’s Digital ADR Architecture: Institutional, Regulatory and Technological Priorities.”
The day will conclude with discussions on “Mediation after the Mediation Act, 2023: From Statutory Framework to Institutional Practice,” examining the transition from the statutory framework to its practical and institutional implementation.
The second day will feature a panel discussion on “Emergency Arbitration & Interim Relief: Court–Tribunal Interface”, followed by a discussion on “The Enforcement Gap: Setting Aside, Recognition & Enforcement of Awards.” The summit will conclude with a closing ceremony.
A Forum for Digital Justice
The summit is envisioned as a collaborative platform for meaningful dialogue between the judiciary, legal profession, academia, government, industry and technology sectors. It aims to facilitate the exchange of practical experiences, academic perspectives and policy insights while fostering greater collaboration in the field of digital dispute resolution.
Through interactive panel discussions and round-table deliberations, the summit will provide participants an opportunity to engage with emerging developments in AI, Online Dispute Resolution, digital evidence, cybersecurity and regulatory frameworks, while gaining perspectives from practitioners and decision-makers working in contemporary dispute resolution.
With technology increasingly influencing the manner in which disputes are managed and resolved, the India Digital ADR Summit 2026 is poised to provide an important forum for examining the opportunities and challenges accompanying this transformation and for considering the future architecture of technology-enabled ADR in India and beyond.
For more details about the India Digital ADR Summit 2026, including the detailed programme, speakers, registration information and other event particulars, please refer to the official event brochure.