Guide to the Benefits of Arbitration for Commercial DisputesArbitration is preferred by many as a way to resolve commercial disputes. It has many advantages over litigation in court, such as party control of the process; typically lower costs and shorter time to resolution; flexibility; privacy; awards which are final and enforceable; decision makers who are selected by the parties on the basis of desired characteristics and experience; and broad user satisfaction.
View Guide Revised AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules, Effective October 1, 2013
The American Arbitration Association has issued revised Commercial Arbitration Rules that become effective on October 1, 2013. The new rules are the product of a three-year effort involving input from users, advocates, neutrals, and board members. The revamped rules, which include a mediation step for cases above $75,000, reflect user preferences for a more streamlined, cost-effective, and tightly-managed arbitration process that avoids the high cost of litigation.
ABA Arbitration Policy
At the ABA annual meeting in August of 2009 the House of Delegates adopted Resolution 114. The Resolution, now official policy of the ABA opposes inter alia, federal or state legislation or regulations that would reduce or discourage the use of international commercial arbitration to resolve disputes involving international business transactions or that would be inconsistent with established international commercial arbitration standards and practice and opposes federal or state legislation or regulations that would invalidate pre-dispute agreements to arbitrate international commercial disputes. The ABA policy is available at http://www.abanet.org/leadership/2009/annual/daily_journal/One_Hundred_Fourteen.doc.
ABA House of Delegates Adopts Health Care Arbitration Policy
At the 2009 ABA Midyear Meeting the ABA House of Delegates adopted Resolution 111B, introduced by the ABA Commission on Law and Aging and co-sponsored by the Section of Dispute Resolution. The Resolution, now official policy of the ABA, "supports the enactment of federal, state, and territorial legislation and regulations that oppose the use of mandatory, binding, pre-dispute arbitration agreements between a long-term care facility and a resident of such facility or person acting on behalf of such resident." The Resolution further supports that these objectives be accomplished through a method other than amendment the Federal Arbitration Act
Committee Project Updates
Annotated Code of Arbitrator Ethics; Report on Dodd Frank Act; Model Supplementary Arbitration Rules for Commercial Financial Actions
The Annotated Code of Arbitrator Ethics is now posted on the ArbCom web site.
The materials from the ArbCom Subcommittee's report on the Dodd Frank Act were included in a paper by the NYS Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section and will be published in the Cardozo Law Review this spring. The NYS Bar Association paper is posted on the ArbCom's web site.
The Report on Supplementary Arbitration Rules for Commercial Financial Transactions is now posted on the ArbCom web site.
We welcome feedback on all these materials.
Arbitration Training DVD: Advanced Arbitration Insight 20/20 Advanced Training For Advocates And Arbitrators
To order this DVD click here
This DVD is an excellent tool for arbitration training that raises some of the more sophisticated issues in complex commercial arbitrations. The format consists of 20 vignettes depicting several stages of a simulated arbitration from pre-arbitration through post-award phases.
