Originally from Soft Law in International Arbitration, Second Edition

PREVIEW PAGE

Millions of business contracts provide for mediation and arbitration as ways of resolving disputes. A large number of these contracts provide for administration by the American Aribtration Association (AAA), a public-service, not-for-profit organization offering a broad range of conflict management procedures.

The agreement to arbitrate or mediate can empower the parties with a great deal of control---over the process and the arbitrator who hears the case, or the mediator who assists the parties in settlement efforts. A well-constructed AAA dispute resolution clause can provide certainty by defining the process prior to a dispute, after which agreement becomes more problematic. This Guide is designed to assist drafters in constructing basic clauses for negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, as well as more comprehensive clauses that address a variety of issues.

The first section of this booklet contains a brief checklist of some of the more important elements a practitioner should keep in mind when drafting or adopting any dispute resolution clause, no matter how basic. The second section describes the major features of arbitration. The third section provides a series of clauses that the AAA feels are appropriate for use in a general commercial setting and which meet different needs and concerns in such a context. The fourth section contains a series of clauses that the AAA deems appropriate for use in the particular contexts of international disputes, construction disputes, employment disputes, and patent disputes. The final section consists of examples of supplemental language which go beyond the basic dispute resolution clauses in Sections III and IV.  While the AAA does not necessarily recommend such expanded provisions, it recognizes that such additions are used from time to time to meet specific wishes or needs of the parties. Explanatory text sets forth factors one might take into account when considering whether to include such supplemental language.