Cato Institute on Corporations

Let consumers choose to use private court or arbitration

What is this thing that some lawyers find so threatening? Arbitration is simply private court. Lawyers with a vested interest in a monopoly court system are trying to stop the arbitration business from developing. Lawyers who feel threatened by arbitration assert that arbitration is fine when it's used by two well-informed businesses. But when ordinary consumers are "forced" to use arbitration, that takes away their constitutional right to a jury trial. But there's nothing forced or mandatory about it. Contracts are the result of choice. People should be free to choose for themselves what contracts to make and what rights to give up.