ProActive Arbitration is a vision of the arbitral process based on the conviction that impartiality is its most essential feature. We affirm that impartiality is a habit of decision analysis that must be learned and practiced, and not the simple byproduct of intelligence or experience.
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ProActive Arbitration is a method for empowering arbitrators to learn about the workings of our own minds, and to develop individualized techniques for mitigating bias and cognitive errors. We are realistic about the presence of cognitive errors in human consciousness, and transparent about our efforts to diminish opportunities for biases to influence the resolution process.
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ProActive Arbitration is not a form of “muscular arbitration” that excludes Parties from the process; it is a system for identifying and anticipating the procedural obstacles unique to each case, and developing a co-creative framework to avoid litigation and its pitfalls. We believe in the pursuit of equal justice for all—an ideal which is within reach in an expedient and affordable process presided by arbitrators committed to the practice of impartiality.
The following articles provide detailed introductions to the philosophy and methodology of ProActive Arbitration
Areas of Engagement
Below are initial paths on which impartiality might be sought. Like sunlight, improvement in neutrality should be free to all. The ProActive Arbitrator seeks to provide a service to others and the community.
impartiality education & Training
ProActive Arbitration’s chief pursuit is to enhance arbitrators’ impartiality by furnishing them with effective procedural strategies and personalized practices for enhancing their awareness of the cognitive errors and heuristics in their own decision-making processes.
Industry Advocacy
ProActive Arbitration seeks to play a role in influencing the norms and attitudes of our industry regarding the way arbitrators and advocates conceive of and evaluate impartiality during the arbitral process.
dialogue & Speaking Engagements
ProActive Arbitration does not pretend to be “the final word,” but rather a catalyst for an industry-wide effort at improving and reimagining impartiality practices. We are always eager to carry the conversation forward with other arbitrators, advocates, and researchers as part of panel discussions, conferences, or committees.