Judicial review: As the parties see it
January 1, 1972
Four advocates expound on the topic of judicial review of arbitration awards. Judges may defer to labor arbitration awards because they believe that any mistakes by the arbitrator pertain to only minor, ad hoc labor disputes with no far-reaching impact, or because they believe that arbitrators possess a special competence. In the area of discrimination disputes, the advocates agree that judicial deference should be more measured, because arbitrators hesitate to apply statutes in ways that might vitiate the contract. The courts must assure that an individual’s rights under federal law have not been taken away by an arbitrator who sits merely to interpret the contract.