Arbitration is a way to settle disagreements where both sides agree to let a neutral person, called an arbitrator, make the final decision. Instead of going to court with lawyers and judges, the people in conflict present their arguments to the arbitrator, who listens carefully and then decides how to resolve the dispute.

Imagine two classmates disagree about the rules of a game they invented together. They can't agree, and their argument is ruining recess for everyone. They might ask a teacher to be their arbitrator: both students explain their side, the teacher considers the evidence, and then makes a ruling that both students agree to accept.

In the adult world, arbitration often happens in business disputes or disagreements between workers and companies. It's usually faster and less expensive than going to court. Professional sports leagues use arbitration when players and teams can't agree on salaries. The key feature of arbitration is that both sides agree in advance to accept whatever the arbitrator decides, even if they don't like the outcome.

An arbitrator's job is to be fair and impartial, not to favor either side, but to look at the facts and make the most reasonable decision possible.