Many disputes these days are resolved through Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR) rather than the court system.
Arbitration is one legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts. The parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons, called the arbitrator or arbiter tribunal. It is a settlement technique in which the third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides.
The process of arbitration is in essence a mini-trial with much less formal rules than a traditional court.