Article by Thomas E. Carbonneau
Arbitration consists of a process for resolving disputes in a final and binding manner outside the traditional court system. The rules that govern arbitrations provide for flexible proceedings and do not require the strict application of legal rules. A standard contract provision mandating the submission of disputes to arbitration ordinarily is the gateway to the process.
The agreement to arbitrate constitutes a waiver of other possible remedies for resolving disputes, including a formal judicial trial. The parties to the arbitration agreement name the arbitrators who act as the adjudicators of the matters submitted to arbitration. Arbitrators function as private judges and are usually experts in the matter submitted to arbitration. The arbitral tribunal's determinations, known as awards, are usually simpler and less costly than their judicial counterpart and are more quickly rendered. Appeal against an award is generally either unavailable or unavailing.
About the Author
Thomas E. Carbonneau. Professor of Law and Director of the Eason-Weinmann Institute of Comparative Law, Tulane University.
Citation
70 Tul. L. Rev. 1945 (1996)