Arbitration is a process whereby one or more neutral persons hear and render an award in a dispute.
It is designed to be quicker, cheaper and less formal than a court trial. Arbitration differs from mediation in that the neutral will be making the decision and not merely bringing the parties together to discuss settlement. Millions of commercial agreements now contain standard arbitration clauses which provide for arbitration of any controversy arising out of the contract. An arbitration may be conducted by one arbitrator or a panel of three arbitrators. In the case of a panel of arbitrators, each side chooses an arbitrator and the two arbitrators then pick a neutral third arbitrator.