Today was not starting well. A few minutes late for an early morning meeting, you drive a little faster than usual through a winding bit of road. Out of nowhere, a police motorcycle appears behind you and signaled to you to over. Mystified, you comply. “Did you know you were speeding?” asks the officer, her …
For many consumers in the United States, buying a product or service that does not work out could result in a person wondering how consumer arbitration works. For many years, courts have upheld forcing disputes into arbitration when a consumer contract, which a consumer often signs and accepts simply by purchasing an item, designates that …
By Zach Ulrich Our ADR Times Contributing Editor, Zach Ulrich, had the opportunity to sit down with expert international mediator and arbitrator Eric van Ginkel, and discuss topics including the role of culture and language in international disputes, differences between international and intranational conflicts, and Mr. van Ginkel’s career as a neutral. A consummate commercial …
The International Bar Association’s Arbitration Committee is one of the world’s largest professional groups for counsel and arbitrators handling transnational disputes. The Committee currently includes over 2,600 members from 115 countries. According to the IBA, membership is steadily increasing. The Arbitration Committee has published several sets of Rules and Guidelines that are widely accepted by …
By Thomas J. Stipanowich These days arbitration seems to be everywhere. Binding pre-dispute arbitration provisions feature in all kinds of contracts; the Supreme Court regularly issues pro-arbitration decisions; and there has never been more discussion about how to employ arbitration fairly and effectively. But these realities underpin and point up twin challenges facing arbitration. First, …
By Eric Epstein It is common at an arbitration hearing for each side to present diametrically different versions of the dispute. This is especially true in cases of sexual harassment in which the accuser tells one story and the accused tells a completely different story. In such cases, it is the Arbitrator’s responsibility to determine …
By Jeffrey Benz When parties lament the costs of arbitration, I wonder if as an arbitrator I need to undertake a review of what can be done to make things more efficient. As we begin 2012, I reflect back on a topic we all (practitioners and arbitrators) read and heard a lot about in 2011, …
By Mikita Weaver In improving the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the following competing interests must be considered: need to promote efficiency, need to unify the diverse jurisprudence of international investments, and need to promote investments abroad. Jack Coe wrote the following: “Sustained momentum toward an award is also often countered by …
By Mikita Weaver Scholars and practitioners alike often seem up in arms about the “vanishing trial.” Most seem worried that this decline in litigation will ultimately destroy justice. Instead of achieving justice through a court system, conflicts are being resolved without the assistance of lawyers, judges, and–dare I say—lots of time, money, and resources! Many …
What does the perfect arbitration agreement look like? If you are seeking one agreement that will be ideal across the board, there is no such thing. Of course, there are provisions that should be in your arbitration agreement. Before discussing how to draft the perfect arbitration agreement, we should consider some of the arbitration’s imperfections. …