Being aware of the possible drawbacks of arbitration will help you make an informed decision about whether to enter or remain in a consumer transaction that mandates it -- or whether to choose it as a resolution technique if a dispute arises. Limited recourse. A final decision is hard to shake. If the arbitrator's award is unfair or illogical, a consumer may well be stuck with it and barred forever from airing the underlying claim in court.
Uneven playing field. Some are concerned that the "take-it-or-leave-it" nature of many arbitration clauses work in favor of a large employer or manufacturer when challenged by an employee or consumer who has shallower pockets and less power. Most retailers -- car dealers are repeat offenders here -- do not mention the arbitration clause before requiring the customer to sign the purchase agreement.
Or they will wait until you are ready to drive the car off the lot, then casually mention that they won't sell unless you sign.
Questionable objectivity. Another concern is that the process of choosing an arbitrator is not an objective one, particularly when the decision-maker is picked by an agency from a pool list, where those who become favorites may get assigned cases more often.
Adding possible complication: Many of the national arbitration groups actively market their services to companies that issue credit cards or sell goods to consumers, casting additional questions on the alleged neutral's objectivity.
And an arbitrator chosen by a party within an industry may be less objective, more likely to be biased in favor of the appointing group. Lack of transparency. As mentioned, the fact that arbitration hearings are generally held in private rather than in an open courtroom, and decisions are usually not publicly accessible, is considered a benefit by some people in some situations.
Others, however, lament that this lack of transparency makes the process more likely to be tainted or biased, which is especially troublesome because arbitration decisions are so infrequently reviewed by the courts.
Rising costs. While most still claim that arbitration is less costly than litigation, its costs are increasing. Add to that the arbitrator's fees -- multiplied by three if a panel is involved -- in addition to administrative costs, and the process appears to be less of a bargain. Given the possible perils and unevenness for those who unwittingly enter arbitration contracts, the wise consumer can take a number of steps to become better informed and, possibly, ward off a bad experience.
Know the terms of your agreements. Read or reread all agreements you've entered with a retailer, credit card company, or health care provider that may contain arbitration provisions. If the writing obligates you to binding arbitration, and that is not your wish, shop around for another provider. Heed all agreement changes. If a company switches the terms of its contract to include mandatory arbitration, it must notify you in writing first.
Some of these notices may come buried in the envelope itemizing your bill. Resist the temptation to recycle them on sight -- and read the fine print. Speak your mind. Please see Legislation and Regulation for more on this. There are few provisions implied into a contract under the common law system — it is therefore important to set out ALL the terms governing the relationship between the parties to a contract in the contract itself.
This will often result in a contract being longer than one in a civil law country. Countries following a civil law system are typically those that were former French, Dutch, German, Spanish or Portuguese colonies or protectorates, including much of Central and South America. The civil law system is a codified system of law. It takes its origins from Roman law. Features of a civil law system include:. There is generally a written constitution based on specific codes e.
Only legislative enactments are considered binding for all. There is little scope for judge-made law in civil, criminal and commercial courts, although in practice judges tend to follow previous judicial decisions; constitutional and administrative courts can nullify laws and regulations and their decisions in such cases are binding for all.
In some civil law systems, e. Courts specific to the underlying codes — there are therefore usually separate constitutional court, administrative court and civil court systems that opine on consistency of legislation and administrative acts with and interpret that specific code;. Less freedom of contract - many provisions are implied into a contract by law and parties cannot contract out of certain provisions.
A civil law system is generally more prescriptive than a common law system. However, a government will still need to consider whether specific legislation is required to either limit the scope of a certain restriction to allow a successful infrastructure project, or may require specific legislation for a sector.
There are a number of provisions implied into a contract under the civil law system — less importance is generally placed on setting out ALL the terms governing the relationship between the parties to a contract in the contract itself as inadequacies or ambiguities can be remedied or resolved by operation of law.
This will often result in a contract being shorter than one in a common law country. It is also important to note in the area of infrastructure that certain forms of infrastructure projects are referred to by well-defined legal concepts in civil law jurisdictions. Concessions and Affermage have a definite technical meaning and structure to them that may not be understood or applied in a common law country.
Care should be taken, therefore, in applying these terms loosely. This is further considered under Agreements.
In many civil law countries a separate administrative law governs PPP arrangements. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, 10 pharmaceutical companies and five non-profit organizations have partnered to accelerate development of gene therapies for the 30 million Americans who suffer from a rare disease. While there are approximately 7, rare diseases, only two heritable diseases currently have FDA-approved gene therapies.
Collins, M. A single rare disease affects small numbers of people, but rare diseases collectively affect millions. Most rare inherited diseases stem from a specific gene mutation that is already known, making gene therapy a promising therapeutic approach. However, gene therapy development for rare diseases is highly complex, time consuming and expensive. Moreover, the development process is stymied by limited access to tools and technologies, lack of standards across the field, and a one-disease-at-a-time approach to therapeutic development.
A standardized therapeutic development model that includes a common gene delivery technology a vector could allow for a more efficient approach to specific gene therapies, saving time and cost. Rutter, Ph. A primary aim of BGTC is to improve understanding of the basic biology of a common gene delivery vector known as the adeno-associated virus AAV.
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