What is Arbitration?

Arbitration is a form of ADR in which the parties choose to forgo litigation and solve their problems through a third-party decision-maker, known as an arbitrator.

How Does Arbitration Work?

The key characteristic of arbitration is that the parties are hiring one or more unrelated and unbiased third parties to decide the legal dispute.

Basically, the arbitrator(s) acts as judge and jury in deciding the dispute.

Unlike in mediation, the arbitrators are decision-makers.

Arbitration yields a final resolution of the dispute in the form of an arbitrators award.

The award generally consists of monetary damages, but it may include equitable remedies as necessary.

Parties may generally enforce an arbitrator’s award similarly to a judgment.

• Note: It may surprise you to know that popular reality court television shows are actually arbitrations, as opposed to trials. The proceeding is made to look like a trial proceeding, with the arbitrator acting like (and even taking the title of) a judge.