Wikipedia:Arbitration/Guide to arbitration

Arbitration​Committee

Shortcuts WP:A/G WP:ARBGUIDE This page is a guide detailing an Arbitration Committee process on the English Wikipedia. Please see the Arbitration Policy and the Arbitration Committee's Procedures for authoritative information. This page is maintained by members of the Arbitration Committee and their Clerks. Editing requires considerable forethought and usually (for major changes) arbitrator agreement.

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Arbitration is the final step in Wikipedia's process for resolving conduct disputes. The Arbitration Committee considers requests to open new Arbitration cases and to review previous decisions, as described in the Arbitration policy. A panel of highly experienced users will consider evidence and reach a decision that is binding on everyone. The Arbitration Committee does not rule on content disputes, which are resolved by alternative methods.

If you are considering an arbitration case, or are involved in one, please read this page carefully. Arbitration is an exceptional step in a dispute and has a number of structured norms that are unlike those of other stages of dispute resolution. If you do not understand how Arbitration approaches your dispute, you may find the process bewildering and unpleasant. It is therefore in your best interest to understand what will happen if you are involved in a request for an arbitration case, and if that request is accepted and a case opened.

The features of an arbitration case are that:

• Arbitration aims to "break the back" of the dispute: A dispute may come to arbitration after many months, or even years. Some disputes are related to long-term, real-life controversy or dispute. Many disputants, perhaps including you, will be frustrated with the dispute. Arbitrators will aim to clarify the issues among themselves and establish the case's history, then take remedial action so that the dispute becomes easier for the community to resolve. Arbitration will rarely resolve a situation completely.
• Arbitration is not a legal process: With no fixed approaches to problems, all actions, conduct, and relevant evidence may be taken into account. A person's general manner, past actions, and the impressions of them by reasonable people will be used to guide the arbitrators into establishing how best to soothe the dispute.
• Arbitration is intended to serve Wikipedia: Arbitrators focus on the risk and benefits for the future, not on past issues. Arbitration aims to find the best way to move users beyond the dispute. For this reason, the committee is more likely to consider if a user can change, or what restrictions would be of benefit to the project, than on who said what in the past.

After considering a request for arbitration (at Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case) and any previous attempts at dispute resolution, the Arbitration Committee will vote on whether or not to open a case. If a case is opened, involved parties and members of the community will have the opportunity to present evidence and comments pertaining to the dispute. After considering the evidence, the Arbitrators will reach a binding decision that may include various remedies, ranging from comparatively minor reprimands to severe sanctions. If a case is not opened, the arbitrators will often offer suggestions to resolve the dispute without arbitration, and these are often worth serious consideration.

The arbitration process can be stressful, lengthy, and tedious, but it is useful to remember that the arbitrators will have had little or no involvement or knowledge of the dispute in question, and that their interests are in the project in general.