YMCIA Member Directory Policy

Young MCIA (YMCIA) Member Directory

Comprising the Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, Membership Agreement and Cookies Policy

Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA)

1515C One Lodha Place, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai – 400013, India

contact@mcia.org.in  |  youngmcia@mcia.org.in

A. YMCIA Privacy Policy

Last updated: 7 August 2026. Applies to the YMCIA Members and Member Directory at mcia.org.in, in addition to the general MCIA Privacy Policy.

1. Introduction and who we are

Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (“MCIA”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) operates Young MCIA (“YMCIA”), a membership programme for young professionals with an interest in international arbitration, and the YMCIA Member Directory and Member Portal (together, the “Portal”) for the YMCIA Members.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect personal data of YMCIA members and Portal users (“you”) in connection with YMCIA Portal. It supplements, and should be read together with, the general MCIA Privacy Policy applicable to mcia.org.in.

This Privacy Policy is governed by, and has been prepared with reference to, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”) and other applicable Indian law. Under the DPDP Act, MCIA acts as the “Data Fiduciary” in respect of personal data processed through the Portal, and you, as a member or user, are the “Data Principal”.

2. Personal data we collect

We collect the following categories of personal data in connection with YMCIA membership and the Portal:

  • Identity Data: title, full name, and photograph (where a member chooses to upload one to their Directory profile).
  • Contact Data: email address, telephone number (not mandatory), postal address (not mandatory), and country of residence.
  • Professional Data: organisation, designation, area of practice or expertise, Bar Admission country and any professional biography, articles, or links a member chooses to add to their Directory profile.
  • Membership and Financial Data: YMCIA Membership ID, membership type (1-year or 3-year) and membership start and expiry dates.
  • Account and Login Data: username, Membership ID, and password (stored in encrypted/hashed form) used to access the Portal.
  • Technical and Usage Data: IP address, browser type and version, device information, log-in timestamps, and pages viewed within the Portal, collected automatically.

We do not knowingly collect any special category or sensitive personal data (such as health information, financial account credentials beyond what is necessary to process payment, or biometric data) through the Portal.

3. How we collect your personal data

We collect personal data when you:

  • Complete the YMCIA membership registration form on www.mcia.org.in;
  • Log in to, or update your profile on, the Member Directory;
  • Make a membership fee payment;
  • Contact us by email or telephone;
  • Register for or attend YMCIA networking events, training courses, or the Steering Committee process; or
  • Submit an article or contribution for publication (including via Jus Connect).

Technical and Usage Data is collected automatically through your use of the Portal, including via cookies and similar technologies, see our Cookies Policy at Part D below for further detail.

4. Why and how we use your personal data

Under the DPDP Act, we process your personal data only where we have a valid legal basis. We rely on the following:

  • Your consent, given at the time of registration, for processing necessary to create and administer your YMCIA membership and Portal account, and to display your profile in the Member Directory to other logged-in members.
  • Performance of the membership contract between you and MCIA, for example to process your membership fee, issue your Membership ID, and provide member benefits.
  • Compliance with a legal obligation, for example retaining financial records for tax and accounting purposes.
  • Our legitimate uses, such as maintaining Portal security and preventing fraud or misuse, balanced against your rights as a Data Principal.

We use your personal data to: register and administer your YMCIA membership; display your Directory profile to other logged-in YMCIA members for professional networking purposes; process membership fee payments; communicate with you about your membership, events, and training discounts; maintain the security and proper functioning of the Portal; and comply with applicable law.

5. The Member Directory — how your profile is shared

A defining feature of YMCIA membership is access to the Member Directory, which allows members to find and connect with one another. By registering as a YMCIA member, you consent to your Identity Data, Contact Data, and Professional Data (as completed in your profile) being made visible to other logged-in YMCIA members through the Directory.

The Member Directory is accessible only to logged-in, current YMCIA members using their individual Membership ID and password. It is not accessible to the public or to search engines.

You may control certain elements of what appears in your Directory profile through your account settings; however, certain fields (such as your name and Membership ID) are required for the Directory to function and cannot be hidden while your membership is active.

You must not use the Member Directory to extract, harvest, scrape, or compile the personal data of other members for any purpose, including commercial marketing, except as expressly permitted under the Membership Agreement at Part C below.

6. Disclosure of your personal data to third parties

We may share your personal data with the following categories of recipients, strictly for the purposes described in Section 4 above:

  • Payment processing to our Payment Gateway Provider, to process online membership fee payments.
  • Banking: To our Bank, in connection with bank transfer payments of membership fees.
  • IT and hosting service providers, who host and maintain the Portal infrastructure.
  • Other YMCIA Members: as described in Section 5, through the Member Directory.
  • Regulators, courts, or governmental authorities, where required by law.

We require all third-party service providers to protect your personal data and to use it only for the specific purpose for which it was shared, and not for their own independent purposes. We do not sell or rent your personal data to any third party, and we do not share your personal data with any third party for that third party’s own direct marketing purposes.

7. Cross-border data transfer

Where any of our service providers store or process personal data outside India, we take reasonable steps to ensure that data continues to receive an appropriate level of protection, consistent with the requirements of the DPDP Act and any related rules or government notifications restricting transfer to specified countries.

8. Data retention

We retain your personal data for as long as you remain a YMCIA member, and for such further period as is reasonably necessary to: comply with tax, accounting, and other legal obligations; resolve disputes; and enforce our agreements. Financial and membership records are retained in accordance with the limitation and record-keeping periods prescribed under applicable Indian tax, accounting, and other statutory requirements.

Your Directory profile is removed from public (member-facing) view within the Portal promptly upon expiry or termination of your membership, save that underlying records may continue to be retained as set out above.

9. Data security

We employ reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction, including restricting access to personal data to personnel and service providers who need it to perform their role. No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

You are responsible for keeping your Membership ID and password confidential, see Part C (Membership Agreement) for your obligations in this respect.

10. Your rights as a Data Principal

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

  • Access a summary of the personal data we hold about you and how it is processed;
  • Request correction or updating of inaccurate or incomplete personal data;
  • Request erasure of your personal data, including deletion of your Directory profile, where it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected or where you withdraw consent, subject to our right to retain certain records as described in Section 8;
  • Withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal — noting that withdrawal of consent to display your profile in the Directory may mean you are no longer able to use that member benefit;
  • Nominate another individual to exercise your rights under the DPDP Act in the event of your death or incapacity;
  • Lodge a grievance with us in the first instance, and, if unresolved, with the Data Protection Board of India.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 13 below.

11. Children’s data

YMCIA membership and the Portal are intended for practising professionals and are not directed at, or intended for use by, children (any person under the age of 18). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so that we can take appropriate steps to remove it.

12. Cookies

The Portal uses cookies and similar technologies as described in our Cookies Policy at Part D below.

13. Grievance redressal and contact

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or the processing of your personal data, please contact:

Diana Fernandes or Alisha Sharma on contact@mcia.org.in

Postal address: Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration, 1515C One Lodha Place, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai – 400013, India.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Board of India.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law or our practices. We will post the updated policy on this page and, where the changes are material, notify members by email in advance of the changes taking effect.

15. Governing law

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of India. Courts in Mumbai shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Privacy Policy.

B. YMCIA Terms of Use

Last updated: 7 August 2026. Applies to use of the YMCIA Members.

1. About these terms

These Terms of Use govern access to and use of the YMCIA Member Portal and Member Directory (together, the “Portal”), operated by Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (“MCIA”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). By accessing or using the Portal, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use.

These Terms of Use apply in addition to, and should be read together with, the general MCIA website Terms and Conditions, the YMCIA Privacy Policy (Part A), the YMCIA Membership Agreement (Part C), and the YMCIA Cookies Policy (Part D).

If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, you must not access or use the Portal.

2. Eligibility and access

Access to the Portal is restricted to current, paid-up YMCIA Members who have been issued a valid YMCIA Membership ID. Access is provided for your individual professional use only and may not be shared, sub-licensed, or transferred.

3. Acceptable use

When using the Portal, you agree that you will not:

  • Use the Portal for any unlawful purpose or in a manner that breaches these Terms of Use;
  • Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Portal, other members’ accounts, or any server or network connected to the Portal;
  • Interfere with, damage, or disrupt the Portal, including through viruses, malware, or denial-of-service attacks;
  • Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
  • Upload or transmit content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, discriminatory, or otherwise objectionable;
  • Infringe the intellectual property or other rights of MCIA or any third party.

4. No scraping, harvesting or automated extraction of Directory data

You must not use, and must not permit or facilitate any third party to use, any robot, spider, scraper, crawler, or other automated means to access, extract, copy, monitor, or compile any data from the Member Portal, whether for the purpose of developing, training, fine-tuning, or validating any artificial intelligence or machine-learning system or model, or for any other purpose.

You must not harvest, collect, or compile the contact details or other personal data of other members from the Directory, or transmit lists of members to any third party, without MCIA’s prior written authorisation. This restriction is in addition to, and does not limit, the obligations set out in the Membership Agreement at Part C.

5. Intellectual property

MCIA owns or holds a licence to all intellectual property rights in the Portal, including its design, software, and content (excluding content uploaded by members to their own Directory profiles, which remains the property of the relevant member). You may view and print extracts of the Portal for your own personal, non-commercial professional use, but you must not reproduce, redistribute, or use any part of the Portal for commercial purposes without our prior written consent.

6. Availability of the Portal

We aim to keep the Portal available at all times but do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access. We may suspend, withdraw, or restrict access to all or part of the Portal for maintenance, security, or operational reasons, and will endeavour to give reasonable notice of any planned suspension.

7. Links to other websites

The Portal may contain links to third-party websites. These links are provided for convenience only; we do not endorse and are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of any linked third-party website.

8. Disclaimer and limitation of liability

The Portal and Member Directory are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Information made available through the Directory (including member profiles) is provided by members themselves, and MCIA does not verify, warrant, or guarantee its accuracy, completeness, or currency.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, MCIA shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential loss or damage arising out of or in connection with your use of, or inability to use, the Portal, or your reliance on any content or profile information found within it.

Nothing in these Terms of Use excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under Indian law.

9. Suspension and termination of access

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Portal, without prior notice, if you breach these Terms of Use, the Membership Agreement, or applicable law, or if your YMCIA membership lapses, is not renewed, or is terminated.

10. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms of Use from time to time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Continued use of the Portal after such changes constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

11. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of India. The courts of Mumbai shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms of Use or your use of the Portal.

Note: these Terms of Use relate solely to use of the Member Portal/Directory website and are separate from, and do not incorporate, the MCIA Arbitration Rules, which govern the conduct of arbitration proceedings administered by MCIA.

C. YMCIA Membership Agreement

Last updated: 7 August 2026. This is the agreement between an individual and MCIA governing YMCIA membership and use of the Member Portal/Directory.

I. Preamble

Young MCIA (“YMCIA”) is a membership programme of Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (“MCIA”) for young professionals with an interest in international arbitration and dispute resolution. This Membership Agreement sets out the terms on which an individual may become, and remain, a YMCIA member, and the terms governing use of the YMCIA Member Portal and Member Directory.

II. Definitions

  • “MCIA”, “we”, “us”, or “our” means Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration.
  • “YMCIA” means Young MCIA, an organ of MCIA.
  • “Member” means an individual whose YMCIA membership application has been accepted and whose membership fee has been paid and is current.
  • “Membership ID” means the unique YMCIA membership identifier issued to a Member on registration.
  • “Login Information” means a Member’s Membership ID and password used to access the Portal.
  • “Portal” means the YMCIA Member Portal and Member Directory available through mcia.org.in.
  • “Directory” means the searchable YMCIA Member Directory accessible to logged-in YMCIA Members.
  • “Content” means any information, data, text, photograph, or other material a Member uploads to, or includes in, their Directory profile.

III. Membership registration and fees

An individual may apply for YMCIA membership by completing the registration form available at www.mcia.org.in/ymcia-membership.php, providing the requested title, name, country, and contact/professional details, and paying the applicable membership fee.

Membership fees are currently as follows, and are subject to change on notice:

  • 1-Year Membership: INR 5,000 / USD 50
  • 3-Year Membership: INR 13,000 / USD 130

Membership fees may be paid via our online payment gateway as set out on the registration page. Membership is activated upon acceptance of Membership form and clearance of payment, at which point the Member is issued a unique YMCIA Membership ID.

MCIA reserves the right, in its discretion, to accept or decline any membership application.

IV. Login Information and account security

Each Member is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of their Login Information. In particular, a Member shall:

  • Not share their Membership ID or password with any other person, including another Member;
  • Not create more than one membership account, or an account on behalf of another person, without MCIA’s authorisation;
  • Take reasonable steps to keep their Login Information secure, and log out of the Portal after each session, particularly when using a shared or public device;
  • Immediately notify MCIA at youngmcia@mcia.org.in if they become aware, or suspect, that their Login Information has been compromised or used without authorisation.

MCIA is not liable for any loss or harm arising from a Member’s failure to keep their Login Information secure.

V. The YMCIA Member Directory

On activation of membership, a Member’s profile becomes visible to other logged-in YMCIA Members through the Directory, in accordance with the YMCIA Privacy Policy (Part A). Members are solely responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information and Content they include in their Directory profile, and must keep it up to date.

Members must not:

  • Harvest, scrape, copy, or compile the personal data of other Members from the Directory, whether by automated or manual means;
  • Transmit lists of Members, or any Member’s personal data obtained via the Directory, to any third party, or use such data for advertising or commercial purposes, without MCIA’s prior written authorisation;
  • Use the Directory to send unsolicited commercial communications to other Members;
  • Upload Content that is unlawful, infringes the rights of any third party, or is otherwise inappropriate for a professional networking directory.

MCIA does not control, and is not responsible for, Content uploaded by Members to their own profiles, and does not guarantee its accuracy.

VI. Membership Benefits

Subject to these Terms, current YMCIA Membership entitles a Member to the following benefits:

  • Eligibility to stand for the YMCIA Steering Committee, subject to a minimum of two years’ continuous YMCIA membership;
  • Access to Members-only networking events organised by YMCIA;
  • Secure, login-based access to the YMCIA Member Directory;
  • A 10% discount on any one MCIA training course during the membership term;
  • The opportunity to contribute an article for publication via Jus Connect;
  • A dedicated YMCIA Membership ID.

Member benefits may be varied, added to, or withdrawn by MCIA on reasonable notice.

VII. Duration, renewal and termination

Membership runs for the term selected at registration (1 year or 3 years) from the date of activation, and lapses automatically at the end of that term unless renewed. MCIA may suspend or terminate a Member’s account and access to the Portal, with or without notice, where a Member breaches this Agreement, the Terms of Use, or applicable law, or where membership fees are not paid or renewed.

On termination or expiry of membership, the Member’s profile is removed from the Directory, without prejudice to MCIA’s right to retain certain records as described in the Privacy Policy (Part A, Section 8).

VIII. Intellectual property

MCIA owns all intellectual property rights in the Portal and the Directory as a compiled work, excluding Content uploaded by individual Members, which remains the property of that Member. By uploading Content, a Member grants MCIA and other logged-in YMCIA Members a licence to view that Content within the Portal for the purposes of the Directory, but not to reproduce, distribute, or publish it elsewhere without the Member’s consent, except where MCIA is required to do so by law.

IX. Liability

MCIA provides the Portal and Directory as a networking facility for Members and does not verify the professional credentials, qualifications, or claims made by Members in their profiles. To the fullest extent permitted by law, MCIA is not liable for any loss arising from a Member’s reliance on another Member’s profile or Content, or from any dealings between Members arising out of their use of the Directory.

X. Changes to this Agreement

MCIA may amend this Membership Agreement from time to time. Material changes will be notified to Members by email in advance of taking effect. Continued membership after such changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the amended Agreement.

XI. Governing law and dispute resolution

This Membership Agreement is governed by the laws of India. Any dispute shall first be addressed through good-faith discussion between the Member and MCIA; if not resolved within 30 days, the courts of Mumbai shall have exclusive jurisdiction.

Note: this Membership Agreement governs YMCIA membership and use of the Member Portal/Directory only. It is separate from, and does not incorporate or apply, the MCIA Arbitration Rules, which govern arbitration proceedings administered by MCIA and are unrelated to Directory membership.

D. YMCIA Cookies Policy

Last updated: 7 August 2026. Applies to the YMCIA Member Portal and Member Directory.

1. What are cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They help the website function correctly, remember your preferences, and understand how the site is used.

2. Cookies we use

We use the following categories of cookies on the Portal:

  • Strictly necessary cookies: required for you to log in to and use the Portal securely (for example, to maintain your session while logged in, and to support a “Remember Me” login option). These cannot be switched off, as the Portal will not function correctly without them.
  • Functional cookies: used to remember your preferences (for example, display settings) between visits.
Cookie category Purpose Can it be disabled?
Session / login cookie Keeps you securely logged in to the Portal while you browse No — essential for Portal access
“Remember Me” cookie Keeps you logged in between visits on the same device Yes — via browser settings or logout
Cookie consent preference Remembers your cookie choices for future visits No — required to honour your preferences

3. Third-party cookies

Our payment gateway provider may set its own cookies when you make a membership fee payment. We do not control these cookies; please refer to the provider’s own cookie or privacy policy for further information.

4. Managing your cookie preferences

You can manage or disable non-essential cookies through the cookie banner presented on your first visit to the Portal, or at any time through your browser settings. Please note that disabling strictly necessary cookies will prevent you from logging in to, or using, the Portal.

5. Changes to this Cookies Policy

We may update this Cookies Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the cookies we use. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.

6. Contact

If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please contact us at youngmcia@mcia.org.in.