American Arbitration Association

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The American Arbitration Association (AAA) is a private enterprise in business of arbitration, and one of several arbitration organizations that administers arbitration proceedings. The AAA also administers mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. The International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), established in 1996, administers international arbitration proceedings initiated under the institution's rules. ICDR currently (as of 2007) has offices in New York City, Dublin, and Mexico City, and is scheduled to open an office in Singapore.

Many contracts include an arbitration clause naming the AAA as the organization that will administer an arbitration between the parties. The AAA does not itself arbitrate disputes, but provides administrative support to arbitrations before a single arbitrator or a panel of three arbitrators. The arbitrators are chosen in accordance with the parties' agreement or, if the parties do not agree otherwise, in accordance with the AAA rules. Under its rules, the AAA may appoint an arbitrator in some circumstances, for example, where the parties cannot agree on an arbitrator or a party fails to exercise its right to appoint an arbitrator.

Numerous courts in the USA ruled that mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts are unenforceable.^{[citation needed]}