Ad Hoc Arbitration
Ad hoc arbitration is arbitration run under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 without an administering institution; the parties manage it.
Glossary
Plain-language definitions for the terms you'll run into across this site.
All terms
Arbitral Award
An arbitral award is the binding decision of an arbitral tribunal, enforceable as a civil court decree under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
Arbitration Agreement
An arbitration agreement is a written agreement by which parties commit to resolve disputes through arbitration rather than in court.
BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement)
BATNA is the best outcome a party can achieve if negotiations fail — knowing it helps you decide whether to accept a settlement or walk away.
Caucus
A caucus is a private, confidential meeting between the mediator and one party, held apart from the other side to explore positions and options freely.
Conciliator
A conciliator is a neutral third party who assists disputing parties to settle, and who may actively propose terms of settlement for them to consider.
Consent Decree
A consent decree is a court order recording the parties' agreement with the force of a judgment, so it can be enforced directly through court execution.
Emergency Arbitrator
An emergency arbitrator is appointed at short notice to grant urgent interim relief before a full arbitral tribunal has been constituted.
Ex Parte
Ex parte means a proceeding or communication involving only one party without notice to the other: generally barred in ADR, allowed in some court matters.
Execution
Execution is the court process by which a decree, settlement or award is given practical effect against a party who has not complied voluntarily.
Impartiality
Impartiality is the absence of bias toward either party by a mediator, arbitrator or conciliator, a core qualification for every ADR neutral.
Institutional Arbitration
Institutional arbitration is arbitration administered by an institution that supplies procedural rules, appointment of arbitrators and case management.
Interim Measures
Interim measures are temporary orders protecting a party's position while a dispute is resolved, such as preserving property or restraining a transaction.
Med-Arb
Med-arb is a hybrid process in which parties attempt mediation first and move to binding arbitration if mediation does not resolve the dispute.
Mediated Settlement Agreement
A mediated settlement agreement records the terms agreed by parties at the conclusion of a successful mediation.
Neutral
A neutral is an impartial third party — mediator, arbitrator, or conciliator — who assists parties in resolving a dispute without taking sides.
New York Convention
The New York Convention is the 1958 treaty under which member states recognise and enforce arbitral awards made in other member states.
Party Autonomy
Party autonomy is the principle that disputing parties decide how their dispute is resolved: the process, neutral, rules, seat and language.
Pre-Litigation Mediation
Pre-litigation mediation is mediation attempted before any court case is filed, so the parties can resolve a dispute without entering litigation.
Seat of Arbitration
The seat of arbitration is the legal home of the proceedings: it decides which country's courts supervise the arbitration and which procedural law applies.
Without Prejudice
Without prejudice is a legal designation that protects settlement communications from being used as evidence in court proceedings if negotiations fail.