Agreements in restraint of legal proceedings void; arbitration agreements may govern dispute recovery and bar suits. Agreements that absolutely restrict a party from enforcing contractual rights by ordinary legal proceedings, or that extinguish rights after a specified period so as to restrict enforcement, are void to that extent. Exceptions preserve contracts to refer disputes or existing questions to arbitration, limit recoverability to amounts awarded in arbitration, and permit suits for specific performance of arbitration agreements while barring other suits on matters agreed to be referred.