Julius Rezler, the arbitrator

Abstract

It is not easy to evaluate someone who has had a major personal and professional impact on one’s life, and thus it is for me with Julius Rezler. My task here is to do exactly that and I shall evaluate his contributions to the field of dispute resolution as objectively as I can. My knowledge of this wise man and friend is obtained from two sources: First, I knew him for the last fifteen years of his life. It was Julius Rezler as my mentor who piqued my interest in labor arbitration and I entered the arbitration profession and eventually the National Academy of Arbitrators. Secondly, I conducted extensive research into the writings of this great man. Following his death I was given all of his arbitration awards, his articles, publications, and of course, his books. Much of this work is contained in the biography published by Gondolat Press and the Julius Rezler Foundation, From Budapest to Albuquerque: the American Life of Julius Rezler (2006). Based on these two sources, the following principles of dispute resolution were reiterated by Julius throughout his life.