Voluntary arbitration rests on party consent, selection, and negotiated rules

Evidence

Although the arbitrator plays a quasi-judicial role, voluntary arbitration differs from litigation in crucial respects. First, voluntary arbitration can occur only if both parties have consented, usually by contract, to submit their disputes to arbitration. Baseball’s system of salary arbitration, for example, resulted from a collective bargaining agreement between the players’ union and the team owners. Second, the arbitrators in voluntary arbitration are selected and paid by the parties. Agreement between the parties determines whether there shall be a single arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators, the scope of their authority, and how they shall be selected. Third, voluntary arbitration proceeds according to ground rules negotiated by the parties. Usually, formal rules of evidence and procedure are dispensed with in arbitration. This procedural informality simplifies and speeds the process. Fourth, voluntary arbitration promotes timely decision making. In simple cases, the arbitrator may render an immediate decision. Even in complex cases, arbitrators, because they are not obliged to write opinions, announce their decisions quickly, usually within 30 days of the conclusion of the arbitration hearing. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1168

Categorization

• DEFINE: Precisely defines voluntary arbitration’s four distinguishing features versus litigation, core ADR material for the course.
• XREF: connects to: Voluntary arbitration requires both parties’ contractual consent, unlike litigation — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2343; Third parties render binding decisions when voluntary arbitration is contractually agreed. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2340; The nomination of an impartial arbitrator reveals reciprocal coordination between conflicting parties (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Voluntary arbitration requires both parties’ contractual consent, unlike litigation #corroborates (0.96) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2343
• Third parties render binding decisions when voluntary arbitration is contractually agreed. #expands (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2340
• A freely chosen contract can still create relations of domination between parties #complicates (0.83) — Philip Pettit, Republicanism, 745
• Parliamentary rule institutionalized permanent voluntary consent from the urban class #exemplifies (0.79)
• Future-dispute arbitration waivers differ morally from submitting an existing dispute #qualifies (0.78) — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 4900
• The nomination of an impartial arbitrator reveals reciprocal coordination between conflicting parties #expands (0.76)
• Tacit agreements need qualitatively distinct terms that may discriminate against one party #complicates (0.74) — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 190