the.com/arbitrator
A referee for grown-up fights, hired so courts don't have to bother.
means A neutral private judge both sides agree to, whose binding decision settles a dispute outside court.
from From Latin arbitrari, to judge or give an opinion, rooted in arbiter, an onlooker who decides — literally the one who came to watch and ended up ruling.
Binding powerTheir ruling, the award, is enforceable like a court judgment.
Not a mediatorMediators suggest; arbitrators decide and end it.
Hard to appealCourts rarely overturn arbitration awards, even wrong ones.