Resolving disputes by arbitration is a widely utilised
alternative to court proceedings, offering the parties to a dispute
the benefit of privacy and flexibility. Notwithstanding that, this
method of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
does not lend itself neatly to resolving trust disputes for two
main reasons. First, arbitration derives its jurisdiction from an
agreement of the parties to the dispute to arbitrate. Trust
disputes will often involve parties (usually beneficiaries) who are
not party to the trust instrument, and therefore the agreement to
arbitrate will not be binding on them. Second, most trust disputes
involve remedies which are founded in statute or the court's
inherent supervisory jurisdiction over trusts. Arbitrators may lack
the requisite authority to grant such relief.
