Dispute Resolution Clause

This clause applies to any disagreement between a Sponsor and a Vendor (each a “Party,” together the “Parties”) arising under a Contract transacted on MediChain Global, including disputes about quality, payment, scope, delays, milestone acceptance, or any other matter governed by that Contract or its Agreement Document. “Platform” means MediChain Global acting in its dispute-facilitation role; “Contract” means the active, fully-signed agreement between the Parties for a given Project, including its milestones, escrow arrangement, and Agreement Document.

Before raising a formal dispute, the Parties shall first attempt to resolve the disagreement through direct, good-faith discussion using the platform's clarification thread or messaging tools. Stage 1 has a recommended duration of 7 calendar days from the date the disagreement is first raised in writing.

If Stage 1 does not resolve the matter, either Party may raise a formal dispute via the platform, identifying the Contract, the milestone or issue in question, and the outcome sought. Filing a dispute automatically:

• Places all Escrow accounts linked to the Contract on hold (per the Escrow Agreement), pending resolution.
• Notifies the opposing Party and the Platform's admin team.
• Opens an audit-trail record of the dispute for evidentiary purposes.

Both Parties may submit supporting evidence (documents, deliverables, communications, screenshots, timestamps) through the platform within the timeframe specified by the admin reviewing the dispute (default: 7 calendar days from the dispute being opened, extendable at the admin's discretion). All evidence is timestamped and preserved immutably in the audit log and forms part of the dispute record.

A MediChain Global Dispute Resolution Admin will review the case neutrally, weighing:

• The Contract terms, the Agreement Document, and the relevant milestone's status and acceptance criteria;
• Evidence submitted by both Parties;
• The platform's immutable audit trail (including signature events, milestone submissions/approvals, and prior communications);
• Compliance and quality observations and each Party's trust-score / dispute history.

The admin will issue a written decision through the platform, including the reasoning and the resulting escrow action.

The admin may apply any of the following escrow actions to the disputed Contract:

• Hold: funds remain locked pending further information or a follow-up review.
• Partial release: a defined portion of the held escrow is released to the Vendor.
• Full release: the remaining escrow for the disputed milestone(s) is paid out to the Vendor in full.
• Refund: the disputed funds are returned to the Sponsor.

The admin may also record findings relevant to future engagements (e.g. quality or compliance notes feeding into trust-score recomputation) without those findings constituting a determination of legal liability beyond the escrow action itself.

Pending resolution of a dispute, either Party may request that the admin maintain or adjust the escrow hold to preserve the status quo (e.g. preventing a release that would otherwise occur automatically). Nothing in this Section prevents either Party from seeking interim injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction where urgently necessary to prevent irreparable harm, without that step being treated as a waiver of the arbitration agreement in Section 9.

Resolved disputes contribute to each Party's trust-score recomputation under the platform's scoring engine. Repeated unfounded disputes, or repeated findings against a Party, may also affect that Party's tier classification (Tier A/B/C) and future platform visibility.

Where a dispute cannot be resolved by Platform admins under Stages 1–3, or where either Party disputes the admin's decision on the underlying contractual rights (as opposed to the escrow action itself), the Parties agree to refer the dispute to binding arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (India), seated in Bengaluru, with proceedings conducted in English before a sole arbitrator mutually appointed by the Parties (or, failing agreement within 14 days, appointed in accordance with that Act). The arbitration award shall be final and binding on the Parties, subject to applicable law.

The existence of a dispute, the evidence submitted, and any admin decision or arbitration award shall be treated as confidential by the Parties, except: (a) as necessary to enforce the outcome; (b) as required by law or regulation; or (c) as needed by the Platform to apply the resulting escrow action and to record the outcome in its internal audit trail and trust-score system.

Each Party bears its own costs of participating in Stages 1–3 of this process. Costs of any arbitration under Section 9 (including arbitrator fees) shall be borne as the arbitrator directs, having regard to the outcome of the arbitration, unless the Parties agree otherwise.

MediChain Global acts as a neutral facilitator in Stages 1–3 of this process. We do not adjudicate scientific, medical, or regulatory merit; our review and decisions concern only the application of the Contract, its Agreement Document, and these Terms to the escrow funds in question. Nothing in this clause makes MediChain Global a party to, or guarantor of, the underlying Contract between the Sponsor and the Vendor, except in its capacity as escrow operator and third co-signatory described in the Escrow Agreement and Section 7 of the Terms of Use.