Expert determination is a historically accepted form of dispute resolution invoked when there is not a formulated dispute in which the parties have defined positions that need to be subjected to arbitration, but rather both parties are in agreement that there is a need for an evaluation.
Like arbitration, it allows trade secrets and other sensitive information to be kept out of the public domain.
[3] Unlike arbitration, not all of the evidence an expert considers must be presented at a hearing in the presence of the parties.
[4] The practice itself is well established where complex legal institutions either have not developed, or are unavailable, such as tribal societies and criminal organisations.
In Contract Law, the parties are free to include a forum selection clause appointing a special referee to resolve specialised but disputed factual issues between them.