Historical aspects of state arbitration policy: Georgia, 1732-2004

This study examines state arbitration policy in Georgia from its establishment as a colony until the present time. It describes early informal and nonjudicialized procedures such as the Muhlenberg arbitration in Ebenezer in 1774; initiatives of the Georgia Legislature for the arbitral resolution of disputes; the application of arbitral devices in Georgias tax and municipal corporation law; arbitration in Georgias chambers of commerce and boards of trade, and forms of public law arbitration still existing in Georgia. The survey then shifts its attention to formal and judicialized arbitration in Georgia, focusing on the rise of uncodified common law arbitration in the nineteenth century and the adoption of formal Arbitration Codes in 1856, 1978; and 1988. The study concludes with reflections on modern challenges to the viability of state arbitration policy in Georgia, especially the risk of total federal preemption of Georgia arbitration policy initiatives.