Unrepresented Party (Pro Se) Arbitrations -- Part I: The Arbitrators' Duty and the Fairness Imperative - Dispute Resolution Journal - Vol. 70, No. 2

Author(s):

Reginald A. Holmes

Page Count:

12 pages

Media Description:

1 PDF Download

Published:

July, 2015

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Few questions in the ADR space spark as much disagreement and

divergence of opinions among arbitrators, service providers, lawyers,

academics, and policy makers as the proper supervisor and

management of an arbitration in which one or more of the parties is

not represented by legal counsel.

On one side are those who sternly believe that providing any

material assistance to an unrepresented party by an arbitrator is a

violation of the arbitrator’s duty of impartiality. On the other side are

those who just as firmly believe that providing affirmative assistance

to un-represented parties to ensure fairness is a part of the arbitrator’s

fundamental duty.

Which of these views is correct? Or is there an alternative or

middle view on handling the pro se matter that is more appropriate?

And what are the best approaches for achieving fairness to all sides in

a pro se arbitration?

The answers to these questions will be explored over the course of

two articles. In this article (Part 1), the pro se arbitration will be

defined and the unique challenges that pro se proceedings present to

arbitrators will be explored. In addition, we will discuss why meeting

the challenge of the pro se arbitration is essential to protecting the

fairness reputation of ADR (particularly since a great volume of these

proceeding involves employees, consumers, small businesses).

Finally, a perspective, orientation and overview will be provided to

arbitrators regarding how best to manage the pro se proceeding to
achieve fairness to all.