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    The definitions and entities below are provided only to give visitors a very general response to questions we frequently receive.  As always, any discussion regarding legal topics and others that is posted online is no substitute for the advice of legal counsel, and Arbitrator.com highly recommends consultation with a qualified attorney on all legal issues.  Please do not make any legal decision based upon the below definitions.

Alternative Dispute Resolution:  This is a common term that refers to arbitration, mediation, and other forms of dispute resolution that are "alternatives" to going to court in the traditional litigation sense.

American Arbitration Association:  One of the larger providers of arbitrators and mediators in the United States.  "AAA" as they are commonly referred, has a large number of arbitrators in most U.S. locations.  However, their filing fees tend to push the upper boundaries compared to other ADR service providers.  The arbitration clauses in many commercial contracts mandate that the AAA administer any arbitration between the contracting parties.

Arbiter:  Another word for arbitrator.

Arbitration:  The process of selecting an individual or a panel of individuals who resolve disputes between parties in lieu of a court performing the same task.

Arbitration Clause:   A clause in a contract that requires the parties to the contract to submit the matter to arbitration.

Arbitration Panel:  A panel of three or more arbitrators, often utilized to resolve large disputes.  If the panel contains three arbitrators, it is called a tripartite panel.  The vast majority of arbitrations are conducted by a single arbitrator or a tripartite panel.  A larger number of arbitrators is extremely rare.

Arbitrator:  A person selected by parties to a dispute or by a court, who is charged with the task of resolving the matter by rendering a decision. 

Baseball Arbitration:  This is the type of arbitration process pioneered or at least made famous by Major League Baseball.  In this process, both parties submit their best offers to resolve the conflict to the arbitrator.  The arbitrator then picks what he/she feels to be the more equitable of the amounts.  Example:  A claims that B owes them $10,000 for damages under a breach of contract theory.  A submits a figure of $9,000, B submits a figure of $3,000.  The arbitrator must choose which is closer to the true value of the claim, and no other figure may be awarded.

Binding Arbitration:  Please note that this term can often be redundant, but that "binding arbitration" simply removes any doubt that the result of an arbitrator is to be final and binding upon the parties, with only limited exceptions for appeal.

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators:  An international arbitration and mediation services organization that has offices in several countries including most that are English-speaking.

Conciliation:  Another word for successful or productive mediation, basically.   To reconcile differences.

CPR "Center for Public Resources":  A body based in New York, and headed by Tom Stipanowich that offers arbitration services that allow the parties to a dispute comparably more freedom in the way in which arbitration will occur, who their arbitrator mediator or neutral will be, etc.

Demand for Arbitration:  This is what is typically filed with AAA or another ADR service that parties have selected to administer the arbitration of their dispute.  It is typically the beginning point of the arbitration process.

Deposition:  Where parties are allowed to ask questions of each other's witnesses and third-party witnesses while they are under oath, usually with a court reporter taking down their testimony in written format.

Discovery:  The process (which may or may not happen depending upon the arbitration process agreed upon by the parties) where the parties exchange information, either by document production, interrogatories, depositions, etc.

Federal Arbitration Act:  The "FAA" is the federal statute that among other things, states that with certain exceptions, arbitration agreements are enforceable in the United States, thereby trumping state laws to the contrary.  Its passage was a significant step in changing the thinking in the United States to pro-arbitration rather than anti-arbitration.

Hearing:  The "trial" portion of the arbitration process, where witnesses are examined and the parties make their case to the arbitrator.

International Chamber of Commerce:  The "ICC" is a very popular (though costly) administrator of arbitrations in the international sphere.  Many large international transactions stipulate that arbitration will occur with the ICC.  The ADR office for the ICC is based in Paris, France.

Mediator:    Someone who tries to bring two or more parties to a conflict together at a middle ground so that the dispute or conflict can be resolved.  Mediators can have different styles.  Most are divided into 1) "evaluative" mediators, who are expected to appraise and evaluate each party's position, pointing out strengths and weaknesses in an attempt to get them to approach a resolution rationally, and 2) "facilitative" mediators, who do not evaluate the positions of the parties but attempt to simply remove any hard feelings between them and get them to focus on the positive results of a resolution such as cost savings, etc.

Mini-Trial:  An exercise where the parties "try" their case in a more informal court-like setting, usually with the resulting opinion being non-binding.  The idea is the force both parties to realize the flaw in their positions and eventually reach agreement. 

Neutral:    This can refer to a single arbitrator or the arbitrator in a tripartite panel that is chose by the party-appointed arbitrators.

Party-Appointed Arbitrators:  This is the term typically given to arbitrators chosen by each side on a tripartite panel.  These arbitrators typically in turn choose a neutral, who is expected to have a disposition neutral with respect to both parties.

Uniform Arbitration Act:  A model law that mimics the Federal Arbitration Act and that has been adopted with some exceptions or modifications by most states in the U.S.

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