Federal Arbitration Act

FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT TEXT What is the Federal Arbitration Act? The Federal Arbitration Act is a United States Federal Statute that provides for judicial facilitation for private dispute resolutions enacted through arbitration. The Federal Arbitration Act applies in both federal and state courts—it is a federal law that is upheld by all states. The statute is applied when a transaction is contemplated by both parties involved in interstate commerce and is predicated on the exercise of the United States Commerce Clause—a law granted to Congress in the United States Constitution. Found at 9 U.S.C Section 1, the Federal Arbitration Act was formally enacted in 1925. The law provides for a contractually-based mandatory arbitration; the act results in the award of arbitration entered by a panel or arbitrator as opposed to judgments filed by courts of law. The Federal Arbitration Act requires that in instances where both parties agree to arbitration, they must do so in lieu of filing a court hearing. In an arbitration hearing, both parties formally give up the right to file appeals on substantive grounds in a court setting. Once an arbitration award is entered by a penal or arbitrator, the filing must be confirmed in a coordinating court setting. Once the award is confirmed, it is then reduced to an enforceable judgment, which will be enforced by the winning party, like any other legal judgment. According to the Federal Arbitration Act, awards must be confirmed within one year of the filing. Any objection to the award, in turn, must be challenged by the losing party within three months of the delivery of judgment. Arbitration agreements may be entered in a prospective manner, meaning the agreement is made in advance of any actual dispute. Furthermore, the agreement may be entered by either disputing party once a conflict arises.