(1.) The parties to the present dispute sought to co-operate amongst themselves for furtherance of their business interest and entered into a Co-operation Agreement dated 11.09.1990. Instead of there being any co-operation, the Agreement resulted in serious disputes between the parties, which gave rise to the arbitral proceedings as also the present proceedings. The substratum of the dispute is the rights and obligations, if any, which came into existence in pursuance of this Co-operation Agreement as also the very legality and validity of the said Agreement.
(2.) The Co-operation Agreement dated 11.09.1990 contains an arbitration clause in Article 12(b) providing for settlement of disputes under the Rules of Conciliation and Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (for short, `ICC') with the arbitration to be held at Bombay, India. The clause reads as under: ''Article 12 : General Provisions (a) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... (b) Any unresolved dispute arising in connection with this Agreement shall be settled under the Rules of Conciliation and Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce by one or more arbitrators appointed in accordance with those rules and the arbitration shall be held at Bombay, India. The award of the arbitrator(s) shall be final and binding upon the parties hereto.'`
(3.) The disputes between the parties resulted in the appointment of Shri Datuk George KS Seah as the Sole Arbitrator. The Arbitrator made and published a Partial Award dated 24.04.1998.