NCJ Number
101420
Journal
Judicature Volume: 69 Issue: 5 Dated: (February-March 1986) Pages: 270-278
Date Published
1986
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Since 1979, the Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ) has monitored the spread of court-administered arbitration in the United States and evaluated its effects.
Abstract
By October 1985, 18 States had mandated court-administered arbitration, and a new initiative in this area is underway in some Federal courts. All programs require arbitration for civil damage suits within specified jurisdictional limits as a precondition for placing those suits on the trial calendar. The arbitration award has the force of a court judgment. Any party dissatisfied with the arbitration decision may request that the case be calendared for a trial de novo. Program objectives are to reduce civil court congestion, court and litigation costs, and time to disposition. ICJ evaluations of arbitration programs in California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey indicate that court-administered arbitration can contribute significantly to reducing court congestion, costs, and delay, as well as to diminish the financial and emotional costs of litigation. Data indicate that the achievement of these goals is dependent on program design and implementation decisions. Future empirical data should focus on the kinds of cases that are not good candidates for arbitration, the factors affecting decisions to appeal, and how arbitration affects settlement and the practice of law. 18 footnotes.