India: International Law

The Supreme Court of India has applied the doctrine of 'transnational issue estoppel' in a landmark ruling, establishing that parties cannot re-litigate issues already decided by foreign courts when challenging foreign award enforcement in India. This decision addresses the critical intersection of international arbitration, foreign judgments, and domestic enforcement proceedings.

The Supreme Court of India has delivered a landmark ruling on the enforceability of foreign court judgments in India, specifically addressing whether summary judgments rendered without full trial proceedings meet the statutory requirements under the Code of Civil Procedure. This decision has significant implications for cross-border litigation and the recognition of foreign judicial decisions in Indian courts.

This podcast episode examines the intricate legal framework governing the enforcement of foreign court judgments and decrees in Indian courts. Advocate Brian Noronha analyzes the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Griesheim GMBH v. Goyal MG Gases (P) Ltd., exploring the specific procedural requirements and legal mechanisms that international litigants must navigate when seeking enforcement in India.

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which entered into force on 15 July 2026, is often discussed in terms of tariff cuts on goods, but for India's professional services sector, the more consequential provisions lie elsewhere. CETA opens structured, rules-based mobility pathways for IT professionals, consultants, engineers, architects, financial services specialists, and other skilled workers moving between India and the UK. For firms in these sectors, understanding the agreement's mobility framework is now essential to competitive strategy.

After years of negotiation and a decade-plus of on-and-off talks, the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), alongside its companion Double Contribution Convention (DCC) on social security, formally entered into force on 15 July 2026. For businesses operating between the world's fifth and sixth largest economies, this is not a symbolic milestone; it is a binding legal framework that changes tariff schedules, market access rules, and professional mobility overnight.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has issued Press Note No. 3 of the 2026 Series on 23 July 2026, marking a significant calibrated liberalisation in the foreign direct investment framework governing India’s e-commerce sector.

The recent developments in the United States concerning Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Adani Enterprises Limited have been received in India through two vastly different perspectives. For some, the proposed settlement of civil proceedings and the reported movement towards dismissal of criminal proceedings represent a significant easing of legal pressure. For others, the very fact that the proceedings were brought remains the more important point. Both readings capture part of the story, but neither fully explains why the episode matters for the Indian business ecosystem.

The European Union's 2026 Steel import Regulation marks a fundamental shift from temporary trade safeguards to permanent industrial policy, dramatically reducing tariff-free quotas by 47%, doubling out-of-quota duties to 50%, and introducing stringent 'melt and pour' traceability requirements. This transformation raises critical questions about whether traditional distinctions between trade remedies and industrial policy are disappearing, with significant implications for major steel exporters like India.

Indonesia’s export regime for strategic natural resources may soon undergo one of its most significant structural changes in recent years. The Government is reportedly preparing a regulation that would centralize the export of certain commodities through PT Danantara Sumber Daya Indonesia (“DSDI”), which is expected to function as the primary intermediary between domestic producers and international buyers.