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BENEFITS OF ARBITRATION
1. AFFORDABLE
Before arbitration became popular, the court system was
inaccessible to many people because they could not afford legal
representation for disputes involving small amounts.
However, with arbitration, parties often
represent themselves just as the litigants in Judge Judy,
The People's Court and the other televised arbitration
shows. Therefore, you can save a substantial amount of money on
attorney's fees.
But, please remember that although attorneys may not be involved
in your arbitration, both parties are required to follow the rules
of arbitration. If a party refuses to comply with the rules of
arbitration, the matter could be sent before a Judge in a Court of
law for enforcement and sanctions.
2. SPEED OF PROCESS
The arbitration process is much quicker than litigation. Once an
arbitrator is selected, the case can usually be heard immediately.
In civil litigation, on the other hand, your case will not be heard
until the court staff can find space on the calendar for it to be
scheduled. Therefore, the parties may wait several months and
sometimes years before the case is heard. Also, with arbitration,
since the parties are able to agree on the time and date of their
hearing in advance, they spend less time waiting around in court.
3. CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY
With arbitration, there is no public record of your dispute or
arbitration decision. However, with civil litigation, there is a
public record of your case unless you are able to convince the judge
that the record should be kept private.
Also, civil cases are heard in courtrooms which are open to the
public. Arbitration, on the other hand, is a private process between
the 2 parties.
4. THE PARTIES SELECT THE DECISION MAKER
The parties in the arbitration process decide jointly on the
arbitrator. In court cases, the parties are not able to choose the
judge they want. The selection of the Judge is based on which judge
is assigned to the court part where your case is scheduled to be
heard.
5. ARBITRATION RULES ARE FLEXIBLE
The arbitration rules are not as rigid as the court rules. For
example, with arbitration, the parties are able to select the type
of hearing that is most appropriate for their particular dispute.
Parties can appear in person, by telephone, by video or by
documents. Also, the parties have more access to the arbitrator than
they would the judge in a civil case.
Therefore, Alternate Dispute Resolution (arbitration and
mediation) is a simpler, quicker, easier and highly economical way
to resolve disputes.
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