Rabbi Reiss, As I understand it the reason why "Arkoat" is assur is because it is a chillul Hashem to choose the secular laws over the Torah laws. While, I understand that halachikly it would be binding if both sides choose to be bound by secular law, how is it not a chillul Hashem to select that option in an arbitration agreement by the Bais Din? Thank you!

<p><strong>From Rabbi Reiss</strong></p> <p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;">In response to your thoughtful comment, this particular question hinges in part on whether the condition is being made to comport with customary practice, which is generally viewed as acceptable even if the custom happens to coincide with secular law (see Igrot Moshe C&rdquo;M 1:72) or whether a community decides to adopt secular law in order to &ldquo;copy&rdquo; secular society, which is more problematic. &nbsp;The Rashba deals with this distinction in a famous and oft-quoted responsum (6:254).&nbsp; For a more detailed discussion of these parameters, see my article &ldquo;Matneh al mah Shekatuv B&rsquo;Torah B&rsquo;Davar She&rsquo;be&rsquo;Mamom&rdquo; in 4 Sha&rsquo;arei Tzedek 288-296. <br /></span></span></p>