Arbitration Agreement

Document Description:

This template is used to create a contract that allows two disputing parties to use arbitration, instead of a court of law, to resolve a conflict. Arbitration is a form of dispute resolution in which the parties bring their dispute to a neutral third party (the arbitrator) and agree to abide by his or her decision.

This legally binding document eliminates the expenses associated with lawsuits by appointing a neutral and independent arbitrator to resolve the conflict. This template can be included within a larger contract to encourage an amicable resolution to contentious matters, should they arise. In most cases, it is more economical and faster to go through arbitration rather than through standard legal proceedings.

One could also consider the Mediation Agreement template in Business-in-a-Box to deal with dispute resolution. Arbitration and mediation are similar as they are both used as alternatives to a court of law, and both employ a neutral third party. In general, an arbitrator will act comparable to a judge and make decisions about evidence and give written opinions, which can be binding or non-binding. Although both can be binding, it is routine to use mediation as a non-binding procedure and arbitration as a binding procedure.