2006/Vol. 5 No.1 - Hamline Law - Hamline University

2006] ARBITRATION: THE BASICS 27
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) is another
provider of arbitration services in the United States. The FMCS is as an
independent agency of the United States government. 114 Its mission is to
promote labor-management peace and cooperation. 115 It provides
services to both the public and private sectors. 116 The FMCS has its
headquarters in Washington, D.C. and has two regional offices and more
than seventy field offices throughout the United States. 117
There are also many state agencies that provide arbitration services.
For example, the State of Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services
provides alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including
conciliation, mediation, and arbitration, in an attempt to facilitate a
constructive labor-management environment. 118
The ICC is a world-wide business organization. 119 Its activities
cover a broad spectrum from arbitration and dispute resolution to
fighting corruption and combating commercial crime. 120 The ICC’s
dispute resolution mechanisms are designed specifically to resolve
business disputes of an international character. 121 The ICC International
114. See 29 U.S.C. §§ 141, 171-173 (2004). The FMCS was created as part of
the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 to “prevent or minimize interruptions of
the free flow of commerce growing out of labor disputes [and] to assist parties to
labor disputes in industries affecting commerce to settle such disputes through
conciliation and mediation.” 19 U.S.C. § 173. Section 171 provides that “[i]t is the
policy of the United States—that sound and stable industrial peace and the
advancement of the general welfare, health, and safety of the Nation and of the best
interests of employers and employees can most satisfactorily be secured by the
settlement of issues between employers and employees through the processes of
conference and collective bargaining,” which “may be advanced by making
available full and adequate governmental facilities for conciliation, mediation, and
voluntary arbitration.” Id.
115. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Serv., Who We Are, at http://www.fmcs.
gov/internet/categoryList.asp?categoryID=13 (last visited Dec. 5, 2005).
116. Id.
117. Id.
118. State of Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services, supra note 106.
119. International Chamber of Commerce, What is ICC, at http://www.iccwbo.or
g/home/menu_what_is_icc.asp (last visited Oct. 26, 2005). The ICC aims “to serve
world business by promoting trade and investment, open markets for goods and
services, and the free flow of capital.” Id.
120. Id.
121. International Chamber of Commerce, Introduction to Arbitration, at
http://www.iccwbo.org/court/english/arbitration/introduction.asp (last visited Nov.
6, 2005). In an international setting, arbitration has an added benefit. Id. More
than 130 nations are signatories of the 1958 United Nations Convention on the
Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (commonly known as the