Write short notes on the following: Arbitration Agreements.

Arbitration Agreement According to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, "arbitration agreement" means an agreement by the parties to submit to arbitration all or certain disputes which have arisen or which may arise between them in respect of a defined legal relationship, whether contractual or not. An arbitration agreement may be in the form of an arbitration clause in a contract or in the form of a separate agreement. An arbitration agreement shall be in writing. An arbitration agreement is in writing if it is contained in— (a) a document signed by the parties; (b) an exchange of letters, telex, telegrams or other means of telecommunication including communication through electronic means which provide a record of the agreement; or (c) an exchange of statements of claim and defence in which the existence of the agreement is alleged by one party and not denied by the other. The reference in a contract to a document containing an arbitration clause constitutes an arbitration agreement if the contract is in writing and the reference is such as to make that arbitration clause part of the contract. The important ingredient of the arbitration agreement is the consent in writing to submit dispute to arbitration. Consent in writing implies the application of mind to the reference of dispute to arbitration in accordance with Arbitration and Conciliation law and the binding nature of the award made thereunder. An arbitration agreement stands on the same footing as any other agreement. It is binding upon the parties unless it is intended with fraud, undue influence etc., in which case it can be avoided like any other agreement. An agreement rests on mutual voluntary agreement of the parties to submit their differences to selected persons whose determination is to be accepted as a substitute for the judgement of a court. The object is the final determination of differences between parties in a comparatively less expensive, more expeditious and less formal manner than is available in ordinary court proceedings.