Arbitration and Literature

This chapter discusses the representation of arbitration in literature. Arbitration seems to receive little attention in literary works, as opposed to justice and the judge, which form the heart of the ‘law and literature’ movement. This disparity is likely due to the collective fascination with the judge as the embodiment of justice. The air of mystery that often surrounds arbitration can also be explained by the difference between the way in which it is presented in fictional texts and in modern law. Literature does not usually apprehend arbitration in the strict understanding of a private judge chosen by the parties, who adjudicates on a dispute by rendering a final and binding award which he cannot enforce without the assistance of state courts. Yet literature’s approximations in the treatment of arbitration are precisely what makes them interesting, in that they shed a welcome light on a justice that is both broader and more perennial than the justice that is rendered within the strict boundaries of the traditional court system. Works of literary fiction also provide many valuable stories about the value and reach of decisions rendered by arbitrators.