Question

Business law survey:

The US Court system is a great system, but can take a lot of time. Some parties have put mandatory arbitration clauses in their contracts. Given what you know about the court system and ADR, share your thoughts on whether Courts should enforce arbitration agreements and force parties to arbitrate instead of using the court system.

Answer 1

Because there exists both the forms either opting for arbitration or going for a court proceedings, the advantages and disadvantages depend upon the nature of the dispute. The nature depends upon certain factors which will help in determine which out of the two methods can be chosen or a third method of including a mandatory clause of arbitration before court has to be introduced.
First factor is the time required to conclude a case. Arbitration typically requires a lesser time than court proceeding. It is because of the rules of arbitration that has a limited right to appeal. The next factor is the flexibility involved. In case of arbitration both the parties have the right to define an certain set of rules and regulations whereas in case of court proceedings the rules and regulations are generic and universal and applies same for everyone. Next important factor is the cost. Arbitration is less expensive most of the times than the court litigation because of the lesser time involved in scheduling and trial of a case. Whereas in court litigation many factors which lead to increase in costs involve pre trial discoveries, interrogation of witnesses etc.