Dispute Resolution Organization - Examples in Practice

Examples in Practice

Many such organizations exist. For instance, Ethan Katsch and Karim Benyekhlef formed the Internet Dispute Resolution Organization which features a tested online dispute resolution interface. A perceived advantage of dispute resolution organizations over governmental court systems is that the former can exist in a competitive marketplace in which entrepreneurs on the lookout for profits seek to outdo their rivals in providing good service, low prices, and other features valued by their clientele. However, such organizations would not necessarily need to be for-profit; many dispute resolution organizations today are nonprofit organizations funded largely through grants from charitable foundations as well as local governments with an interest in taking some of the adjudication burden off of their court system. In an anarcho-capitalist society, voluntary communities might provide such grants.

In the United States, the American Arbitration Association handles about a fourth of the business arbitration in the country. Judgments in arbitrations arising from contractual arbitration agreements are ultimately enforceable in United States Federal Court because of the Federal Arbitration Act. Trade associations handle the vast majority of such disputes. The Council of Better Business Bureaus operates arbitration programs for consumers and encourages businesses to precommit to arbitration of consumer complaints. Major private courts include Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services Company, Civicourt, and Judicate. Many firms specialize in minitrials.