Recapping SW&CR: Arbitration (Ch. 13)

Chapter 13: The Rise of Arbitration (Imre S. Szalai)

Arbitration is often like double-bladed lightsaber it often comes with its advantages and disadvantages. To start, arbitration defined as a private proceeding with a private decision maker that is selected by agreement of both of the parties. An arbitrator is not bound by any common course rule of law and has a broad range of authority to resolve a dispute. Arbitrators hand out binding decisions and parties should be conscious of that when making that selection of who they want. An example of an arbitrator on the worse end would be Darth Vader being the arbitrator on all stormtrooper disputes which would most likely lead to troop shortage.

The light side of arbitration can include the speed by which decisions are made. If a whiny Luke Skywalker agreed to go into arbitration against the opposing party Uncle Lars over his disagreement to do his chores and instead to go to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters he can get that decision as soon as possible. Another benefit is the level of confidentiality where Owen Lars will not face the scrutiny of being a bad parent when the decision is in the process of being made. Finally, a level of expertise and consideration of community values can also be emphasized where Aunt Beru may be the arbitrator in the decision because she is probably the best person to know Luke and brings a consideration of the family values.

However, there is a dark side with arbitration which can cause some huge problems one of them being the disadvantages it can bring to a weaker party. If every time you come into a disagreement over what bounty is to be paid in Jabba’s Palace, you were subject to the Rancor Pitt as the venue for arbitration as part of the agreement this clearly is the result of the unequal power dynamic between the Tatooine bounty hunter and Jabba’s influence as a crime lord within that region. Another disadvantage is the level of concealment that is allowed through this arbitration where the dispute resolution of feeding bounty hunters to beasts is not a process that is in the galaxy’s view and can be left in the stardust.

Always remember to never be on the end of an arbitration where a Hutt is your decision maker!

— Written by Pavan Tolani, SW&CR Padawan and 3L at the University of Oregon School of Law