Arbitration hearings, unlike trials, are not open to the public. Everything discussed is done so in private and, in the context of the hearing, is confidential. Any matters disclosed during the arbitration are generally not discoverable in future proceedings. This means that anything said during an arbitration can not be used either for or against one of the parties if the dispute ends up in court. The reason for this is that the parties are likely to be more forthcoming with offers of settlement in an arbitration if they need not worry about having “something used against them” in court later on.