An arbitrator based on professional qualifications has an obligation of hearing a case and giving sound decisions based on the evidence provided, testimonies and the application of law (Bennett, 2002). Apart from keeping down costs, the responsibilities of an arbitrator include other benefits of arbitration. Cost reduction is one of them.
Secondly, an arbitrator is responsible for saving time. Many people, especially busy organizations, find it tiresome and time-consuming to go to court to solve a dispute. Some of these disputes are minor ones and can be handled in a casual place or in an office instead of waiting for the court time-consuming schedules. Going to court or practicing litigation is a process that takes a lot of time. Arbitration involves parties that come up with a streamlined procedure that suits them well and conveniently. It reduces costs and time significantly and settles down a dispute at a speedier rate. The process of providing the arbitrator with necessary materials, evidence and reviewing takes less time, since the latter is less loaded with work regarding the number of cases being handled. Most disputing parties often choose an arbitrator, who brings convenience to them. Therefore, the arbitrator can handle one case at a time. It makes it fast to get into a legal conclusion of the matter (Lewis, 2010). Even if achieving results at a faster rate and at a minimal cost is a common goal of any modern organization or business, it is wrong to treat efficiency in arbitration proceedings as what parties want most of all.
Confidentiality is another responsibility of the arbitrator. Arbitral hearings are private, and nondisclosure can be agreed by the parties involved. Arbitration gives the latter the advantage of the confidentiality of submission, discovery and evidence. Most commercial organizations prefer arbitration to litigation, because the former is private and confidential, especially in cases of intellectual property and trade secrets. The parties are required not to disclose information they receive as a result of the arbitration process. The hearing is not held in public, therefore, highly sensitive and valuable commercial information is not exposed. Confidentiality avoids the outcome of the proceedings becoming public (Lewis, 2010). The fact that organizations and parties hold their cases behind a closed door may give a false sense of privacy and security regarding the confidentiality of arbitral proceedings.
As far as flexibility in arbitration is concerned, the parties can design a process that accommodates their needs well. Hearings are set at places that are convenient for both parties and in a less formal setting, which enables to reduce stress. Innovative and resolving legal procedures, which may be available in courts, can be adopted. The parties agree and choose some procedures that are conveniently used during arbitration. Some of them include the level of representation, the extent, to which an argument or evidence can be permitted, the time of hearings, languages and documents to be used during the arbitral proceedings. The parties involved solve their disputes in a very flexible manner unlike in courts, where so many regulations are followed (Frenzinger, 2012). Arbitration has been praised for its flexibility for a long time. In practice, clients too often treat standard off-the-shelf procedural directions as time-consuming and as a result choose not to go to courts to settle disputes.