<aside> ⚠️
Contract disputes between businesses, or between businesses and counterparties. Formal arbitration is expensive. Courts are slow. Both options consume senior staff time and carry reputational risk during the proceedings.
</aside>
Three modes of use:
| Mode | Description | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Binding arbitration | Kleros ruling is agreed in advance to be final and binding, via an arbitration clause in the contract | When parties want a low-cost, enforceable alternative to formal arbitration |
| Expert opinion | Law firms use Kleros rulings as technical expert opinion | In preparation for formal proceedings where technical facts need to be established |
| Mock trial | Parties run the case before a Kleros panel before formal litigation | To assess how the dispute would be decided before committing to litigation |
<aside> 📝
Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this agreement shall be referred to and determined by evaluators constituted under Kleros. The parties agree that any final verdict passed by the Kleros evaluators shall be final and binding.
</aside>
<aside> 🏛️
A landlord-tenant dispute was submitted to Kleros. The Kleros ruling was subsequently enforced in a Mexican court. This is the first documented case of a blockchain-based arbitration ruling enforced in a physical court.
</aside>
Kleros has been cited across peer-reviewed journals, law reviews, and academic conferences as a leading case study in blockchain-based and decentralized dispute resolution. The following papers are among the most relevant for teams evaluating Kleros in arbitration and commercial contexts.