Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Party Guide/Introduction: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:39, 8 May 2024

Revision as of 00:33, 18 June 2024

Line 6:

== Features of Arbitration Cases ==

* '''Act as a last resort:''' Arbitration Cases are designed to be the final stage of Wikipedia dispute resolution. This means a problem has normally been discussed at other places and by the community as a whole before they become an Arbitration Case. When this hasn't happened, the Arbitration Committee will normally decline to hear the case. An exception to this is certain kinds of misconduct from administrators. The Arbitration Committee continues to be a last resort in this casescase, but because it is the only group which may remove an administrator it will sometimes hear a case about administrators without prior steps in the dispute resolution process.

* '''Examine conduct not content:''' The Arbitration Committee only handles the behavior of editors and does not get to have the final say about content in articles. There are times when the editor misbehavior may be about content, but the process is still about the behavior of the editor not about the content. For example, an editor who lies about what a source says may be sanctioned for the lie.

* '''"Break the back" of the dispute''': Because it's a last resort, a dispute may come to arbitration after many months, or even years of conflict. Some disputes are related to a 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 action so that the dispute becomes easier for the community to resolve or to manage on an ongoing basis. Arbitration will rarely resolve a situation completely.