Arbitration is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the "arbitrators", "arbiters" or "arbitral tribunal"), by whose decision (the "award") they agree to be bound. Arbitration is a form of binding dispute resolution, equivalent to litigation in the courts and entirely distinct from the various forms of non-binding dispute resolution, such as negotiation, mediation, or non-binding determinations by experts.

In Ontario, the Family Statute Law Amendment Act, 2006 requires that all family arbitrations, to be enforceable, must be conducted exclusively under Canadian law. The Act bars enforcement not only of family arbitrations under religious laws, but also of those under the laws of other countries and of those made according to the arbitrator’s own notions of fairness. Family dispute resolution processes carried out under such other rules are not prohibited, but they will have no legal effect. They are the equivalent of advice only.