NCJ Number
119459
Journal
Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: (1989) Pages: 157-212
Date Published
1989
Length
56 pages
Annotation
This article examines how the U.S. Supreme Court has treated agreements to arbitrate statutory rights in contract disputes governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and evaluates the Court's response to claims that arbitration cannot effectively or appropriately deal with statutory rights because they are imposed rather than created by the contract in which the arbitration clause is contained.
Abstract
The article examines the characteristics of arbitration and the benefits it provides parties, focusing also on criticisms leveled against the capacity of arbitration to achieve satisfactory results. The scope and effect of arbitration law under the FAA are discussed, with special emphasis on relevant case law and public policy issues. Federal legislative changes are proposed. Among the article's recommendations is the proposal that courts should have unambiguous authority, when statutory claims are involved, to vacate or modify an arbitrator's award when arbitral procedures denied an adequate hearing or when the arbitrator made an error of law. Additionally, when statutory rights are involved, the displacement effect of the FAA on State regulation of arbitration should be sharply limited. 254 footnotes.