ADVERSARIAL AND INQUISITORIAL PROCEDURES IN ARBITRATION

How should a dispute be settled between tw opposing parties The advers arial procedure invites the parties to make their cases to an impartia l arbitrator while the inquisitorial procedure requires the arbitrator to adjudicate on the basis of his own investigations. Even if it is a ssumed that the arbitrator is, on average, as well informed as the two opposing parties, the adversarial procedure is shown to be strictly s uperior. This superiority stems from the ability within the adversaria l procedure to allocate the burden of proof in an effective manner, an d thereby extract the maximal informational content from apparently in conclusive contests.