ARBITRATION

a legal method of settling disputes between parties outside ordinary court procedures by deferring to a mutually agreed-upon third party who has the authority to determine an award, a legally binding decision. Arbitration is most commonly resorted to in cases involving commercial disputes, but it is also practiced in resolving disputes between labour unions and management and in international controversies between sovereign states where diplomatic channels are not sufficient. The third party, or arbitrator, may be a single individual or a body known as a tribunal chosen by the parties and knowledgeable in the area of dispute. In general, awards are based on the existing laws related to the contracts or issues in dispute as they are understood and agreed upon in advance by the parties concerned and by the arbitrator. nonjudicial, legal technique for resolving disputes by referring them to a third party for a binding decision, or award, as an arbitrator's findings are usually described. The arbitrator may be a single person or an arbitration board, usually of three members. Arbitration is most commonly resorted to for the resolution of commercial disputes and must be distinguished from mediation and conciliation, which are common in the settlement of labour disputes between management and labour unions. In such cases, the parties resort to a third person to offer a recommendation for a settlement or to help them to reach a compromise. Such intervention by a third party, which also occurs in international disputes between states in the form of diplomatic intervention and good offices, has no binding force upon the disputants, as has the arbitrator's decision, the award. Additional reading The leading treatises and handbooks on commercial arbitration in English are Russel on the Law of Arbitration, 20th ed. by Anthony Walton and Mary Vitoria (1982); Martin Domke, The Law and Practice of Commercial Arbitration (1968); Nrisinhadas Basu, The Arbitration Act, 1940 (X of 1940), ed. by Sudhir Kumar Bose, 5th ed. (1965); and the International Association of Lawyers, International Commercial Arbitration, ed. by Pieter Sanders, 3 vol. (195665).Labour arbitration is treated in Frank Elkouri and Edna Asper Elkouri, How Arbitration Works, 4th ed. (1985); and Clarence M. Updegraff and Whitley P. McCoy, Arbitration of Labor Disputes, 2nd ed. (1961). Also helpful is Edwin Emil Witte, Historical Survey of Labor Arbitration (1952), describing the historical development of arbitration. Detailed primers are Arnold M. Zack, A Handbook for Grievance Arbitration: Procedural and Ethical Issues (1992); and Charles S. LaCugna, An Introduction to Labor Arbitration (1988). Tia Schneider Denenberg and R.V. Denenberg, Alcohol and Other Drugs: Issues in Arbitration (1991), focuses on this growing problem. Max Zimny, William F. Dolson, and Christopher A. Barreca (eds.), Labor Arbitration: A Practical Guide for Advocates (1990), is both a training guide and a resource volume. David B. Lipsky and Clifford B. Donn (eds.), Collective Bargaining in American Industry (1987), provides examples from specific industries. Arnold M. Zack (ed.), Arbitration in Practice (1984), examines specific aspects of the arbitration process. Walter E. Baer, Arbitration for the Practitioner (1988), is a guide for those involved in arbitration. Douglas M. McCabe, Corporate Nonunion Complaint Procedures and Systems: A Strategic Human Resources Management Analysis (1988), examines arbitration and grievance procedures in nonunion companies.Various aspects of international arbitration are dealt with by J.L. Simpson and Hazel Fox, International Arbitration: Law and Practice (1959); David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies, Report of a Study Group on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes (1966); Pieter Sanders (ed.), International Arbitration (1967); and Mauro Rubino-Sammartano, International Arbitration Law (1990). T. Hanami and B. Blanpain (eds.), Industrial Conflict Resolution in Market Economies: A Study of Canada, Great Britain, and Sweden (1987), and Industrial Conflict Resolution in Market Economies: A Study of Australia, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, and the USA, 2nd ed. (1989), provide general overviews and examples for each country from both public and private sectors. Christine D. Gray, Judicial Remedies in International Law (1987), includes treatment of international arbitration tribunals. Alan Redfern, Martin Hunter, and Murray Smith, Law and Practice of International Commercial Arbitration, 2nd ed. (1991), is an extensive treatise.