Share This - x The Delhi High Court recently made significant observations with regard to the power of an Arbitral Tribunal to rule on its own jurisdiction and the manner of deciding the same. A Single Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh also addressed the issue of jurisdiction of High Courts over arbitral tribunals and the scope of such interference. Law governing applications under Section 16 of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 and manner of consideration by arbitral tribunals. With respect to the first aspect, the High Court has held that following the principle of kompetenze-kompetenze, an Arbitral Tribunal has the power to rule on its own jurisdiction. However, depending on each case, the Tribunal ought to decide Section 16 applications— raising objection as to its jurisdiction— as soon as possible or with a sense of urgency as a preliminary ground.