B.Com. and LL.B., Nagpur University (1977)
Experience
40+ years as advocate, advisor and arbitrator
Courts
Supreme Court of India; High Courts of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and others; tribunals and NCLT
Languages
English, Hindi, Marathi
Profile
Specialist in international trade law and arbitration
R.K. Sanghi is a designated Senior Advocate in India (the equivalent of King’s Counsel in the UK), regularly appearing in the Supreme Court of India, the Delhi High Court and other High Courts and tribunals across India. He specialises in international trade law, including letters of credit, UCP 600, INCOTERMS, franchise, international commercial agreements, international litigation and strategic planning, international and domestic arbitration, WTO, anti-dumping law, foreign investment, intellectual property, customs and other commercial laws.
He has handled international litigation in Rotterdam and before the Asian International Arbitration Centre (formerly the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration), appeared in the High Court of Patan, Kathmandu, Nepal, and handled cases in the courts of the Netherlands, Malaysia, the USA, the UK, Japan and Singapore in association with local law firms.
He has a substantial practice in commercial and corporate disputes and international commercial law, including arbitration. He has been appointed arbitrator in various cases, including as presiding arbitrator, and has appeared in domestic and international arbitrations, including before the ICC, Paris. He is a registered Patent Attorney.
Areas of practice
Litigation, arbitration and advisory work
General litigation
Supreme Court of India and the High Courts of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar, and courts in Nepal: constitutional and tender matters relating to roads, bridges and highways (including for Tracts and Towers Infratech Pvt. Ltd. in matters relating to NHAI), arbitration, mining, commercial disputes, direct and indirect tax, GST, customs and excise, IPR and international trade.
International trade & finance
Advisory and litigation on international trade, WTO, UCP 600 and disputes under letters of credit and demand guarantees, bank-to-bank reimbursement, URC 522, ISP98 and INCOTERMS.
Arbitration & ADR
National and international arbitration, including ICC (Paris), Japan Commercial Arbitration, LCIA, SIAC and the Nepal Council of Arbitration, Lalitpur.
Anti-dumping & trade remedies
WTO and anti-dumping law, countervailing duties, safeguards and new exporter / shipper review applications, including petitions concerning seamless pipes and tubes and hydrogen peroxide.
Anti-suit injunctions
Anti-suit injunctions against foreign court proceedings and challenges to foreign judgments in Indian courts.
Corporate, tax & regulatory
Winding up, mergers, acquisitions and amalgamations; NCLT; taxation and GST; customs and excise; energy and power; National Green Tribunal; patents, trademarks and copyright.
International litigation
Selected cross-border matters
- Handled ICC arbitration.
- Letter of credit (UCP 600) matters for an Indian bank in the High Court of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and New York (USA).
- Appeared before the High Court of Patan, Kathmandu, Nepal in an international arbitration matter, after obtaining special permission from the Court.
- Supreme Court of the State of New York: a suit by a Japanese company, defended on behalf of an Indian company in support of an Indian bank’s case. Affidavits of the Chairman of the Law Commission and a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India were filed, and the suit was dismissed.
- International arbitration before an arbitrator in London: obtained a stay order against the arbitration from the High Court of Delhi.
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York: acted for an Indian company with local counsel in an admiralty and maritime claim (Rule 9(h), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; 28 U.S.C. § 1333), and obtained an anti-suit injunction from the Supreme Court of India.
- Letter of credit matter on behalf of an Indian bank in the Supreme Court of India, and various cases on letters of credit (UCP 600), INCOTERMS and anti-trust.
Professional positions
Positions, panels and affiliations
- International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), India
- Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA)
- ICC Commission on International Commercial Practice, Paris
- FICCI and CII (Delhi State & Northern Region)
- Indian Law Institute (ILI)
- Customs, Excise and Gold (Control) Appellate Tribunal
- Honorary Advisor, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI)
- Former Co-Chairman, Indo-Spain Joint Business Council
- Special Invitee, International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR)
- Asian International Arbitration Centre (formerly KLRCA), Kuala Lumpur
- Indian Council of Arbitration
- India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC), international and domestic
- BSNL
- Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
- Coal India
Memberships: Supreme Court Bar Association (Life Member); Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association (Life Member); High Court Bar Associations of Delhi and Rajasthan; Bar Association of India; Indian Law Institute; Indian Council of Arbitration; India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC).
Presentations
Speaking engagements
Publications
Books and articles
INCOTERM
Book on INCOTERMS, together with papers presented on international commercial arbitration.
Section 45 after the 2019 amendment
Article on international arbitration: Section 45 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 and its implications after the 2019 amendment. Published in the ICA Quarterly, Vol. 201, April–June 2019.
Recognition
Awards
The Legal 500
Under his leadership, International Trade Law Consultants was ranked by The Legal 500 in the WTO / International Trade and Dispute Resolution categories.
“Best Jurist”
Awarded “Best Jurist” by the Attorney General of the UK and a Member of Parliament, for international commercial arbitration.
Family
A family of legal professionals
Mr. Sanghi belongs to a family of legal professionals. His father, the late Sh. V.K. Sanghi, was an Advocate, and his elder brother, the late Sh. G.L. Sanghi, Senior Advocate, was a former President of LAWASIA; a block of the Supreme Court of India is named the G.L. Sanghi Block. Ms. Shivani Sanghi is a lawyer and partner at BCLP, London, where she heads the India practice.