What is meant by 'arbitration agreement' under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996? Should the arbitration agreement be in writing and whether jurisdiction of civil court is barred?

As per Section 2(1)(b) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, "Arbitration agreement" means an agreement referred to in Section 7 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Under Section 7, the "Arbitration agreement" has been defined to mean an agreement by parties to submit the arbitration or certain disputes which have arisen or which may arise between them in respect of a defined legal relationship whether contractual or not. Section 7(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 says that an arbitration agreement may be in the form of an arbitration clause in a contract or in the form of a separate agreement. Section 7(3) specifically states that an arbitration agreement shall be in writing. Section 7(4) spells out that an arbitration agreement is in writing if it is contained in (a) a document signed by the parties, or (b) an exchange of letters, telex, telegrams or other means of telecommunication, 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. Yes, the jurisdiction of Civil Court is barred after an application under Section 8 of the Act is made for arbitration. (As held by the Supreme Court in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. v. M/s Pink City Midway Petroleum, AIR 2003 SC 2881 )