What is ECAF?

ECAF, or the EOSIO Core Arbitration Forum, is an arbitration forum which helps resolve disputes within EOSIO related to EOS. For example, if there is a dispute between you and another party regarding the ownership of a certain amount of EOS, ECAF will review and try remedy the dispute.

What is arbitration?

Arbitration, in its purest definition, is the process of solving an argument between people by helping them to agree to an acceptable solution.

In the context of EOSIO, arbitration is a way of resolving disputes without going to court. As the use of EOS is global, disputes between parties originating from different nations can be difficult to solve in a court.  Involved parties present their side to an arbitrator selected by ECAF who will review the dispute and come to a solution agreeable by all parties.

What is ‘filing a claim’?

Before your circumstances be considered for arbitration or mediation, you must file a claim to the ECAF providing information such as, the amount of EOS lost, involved accounts, preferred language, digital evidences, etc. as well as a filing fee depending the quantity in question. If your claim falls under ECAF’s requirements, it will be considered for further review.

The claim can be filed here: https://eoscorearbitration.io/file-a-claim/

However, it must be noted that ECAF does not accept cases related to EOS ERC20 Crowdsale tokens or lost private keys.

Furthermore, ECAF is currently developing a case registration system which will be used to file claims in the future.

After the claim?

According to the ECAF website, time taken ‘vary widely depending on the complexity of the case’. Furthermore, ECAF currently only has six interim arbitrators at their disposal.

The assigned arbitrator will ultimately review the case should it meet the requirements and conclude to a solution seen best fit by the arbitrator.