Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

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FOREWORD

The Committee on Arbitration of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York has long had the closest cooperation of the American Arbitration Association, the leading organization in the field, in the dissemination of knowledge of arbitration and its uses to members of the Bar. When the Committee decided that a revision of the 1956 Outline of Arbitration Procedure was needed as a result of the enactment of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR), the American Arbitration Association gave unstintingly of its time and resources in connection with the revision, and the Committee wishes to express its sincere thanks for such assistance.

INTRODUCTION

A. A Definition of Arbitration

Arbitration is a procedure whereby the parties, by voluntary agreement, place their dispute before an impartial person who, on the basis of evidence and arguments presented by the parties, renders a final and binding determination. Since arbitration involves dispute determination, it is in the nature of the judicial process. It differs from mediation or conciliation through which the parties reach an agreement with the aid of a third person. In arbitration, the dispute is referred for adjudication, not for settlement by compromise. It contains several essential elements.