User:Manning Bartlett/ArbGuide

Adapted from User:Hersfold/ArbGuide

This is a "How-To" guide to the Arbitration process on Wikipedia.

The Arbitration Committee (ARBCOM) is the final resort for the most serious cases of alleged misconduct and administrative abuse. As a result the process has a number of unique rules and exceptionally strict rules on conduct. In some cases, Arbitration rules and procedures actually contradict the general guidelines and policies elsewhere.

This guide should help to make the Arbitration Process go much more smoothly for everyone, particularly those who have not been in an Arbitration case before.

Arbitration at a glance
Arbitration goes through five distinct stages.


 * The Request phase - One or more people requests that ARBCOM open a case, using the Arbitration/Requests page.
 * The Evidence phase - If ARBCOM accepts the case, people can then submit evidence.
 * The Workshop phase - ARBCOM will work through the evidence and may ask questions to specific individuals.
 * The Proposed decision phase - ARBCOM will develop and vote on its final position.
 * The Conclusion - ARBCOM announces its decision, and whatever action(s) are required will be carried out.

Individual roles
An arbitration case can involve many people. However each person belongs to only one of four possible roles. These roles are


 * Arbitrators
 * Clerks
 * Parties
 * Uninvolved editors

Arbitrators
Arbitrators are the elected members of the Arbitration Committee that have overall authority throughout the case. They are responsible for reviewing the evidence, making and voting on proposals, and determining the final outcome of the case. Arbitrators also may block editors for disruption during the course of the case, and retain the authority to ban editors from further participation in the case.

Each case has a "drafting arbitrator". This arbitrator's role is to follow the case very closely throughout the entire process, and they may add most of workshop proposals and write the majority of the proposed decision. They have no special authority over the committee or over the case however.

Recusal - Arbitrators who believe that they have some vested interest in the case (such as being involved in the dispute, or having a close relation to a party) will recuse themselves prior to the start of the case. A recused arbitrator has no authority or special status in that particular case. However a recused arbitrator can be named as a "party", and (like any Wikipedian) can participate in the case as an "uninvolved editor".

Clerks
Clerks are individuals responsible for ensuring that all arbitration procedures are adhered to and that all participants demonstrate proper conduct. Each case will have at least one clerk formally assigned to it, however all clerks can participate in all cases. Clerks are appointed directly by ARBCOM and the status of "clerk" has no meaning or significance outside of Arbitration cases.

Assigned clerk This clerk responsible for opening the case, ensuring all case pages are kept in the proper format, maintaining the implementation notes for the proposed decision, and answering procedural questions from parties and other editors. Additionally, the clerk is responsible for monitoring the conduct of those participating in the case, and issuing warnings and blocks for misconduct. In severe cases, the case clerk retains the authority to ban users from further participation in a case.

Removal and refactoring of comments - New participants to Arbitration are often surprised to discover that the rules about making comments are quite different. Clerks are fully authorised to remove or refactor any comment made if the clerk believes it is not relevant or beneficial to the case.

The clerks are not arbitrators in any sense; they have no authority to affect the outcome of the case. In most cases clerks have no interest in the dispute or its outcome. However, any reasonable act done by a clerk in their role as an Arbitration Clerk should be seen as done with the authority of the Arbitration Committee. If you wish to appeal the action of a clerk and you are unable to work things out with the clerks themselves, you should contact the Arbitration Committee.

Recusal: Clerks who believe that they have some vested interest in the case (such as being involved in the dispute, or having a close relation to a party) will recuse themselves prior to the start of the case; should this occur, they have no special role in the case and act as an uninvolved editor unless specifically named as a party.

Parties
Parties in a case are those users directly involved in the dispute. Being a party carries no particularly special status in terms of privilege on the case pages; however, parties are expected to submit evidence relevant to the dispute, submit workshop proposals, and generally participate in the process. When commenting on workshop proposals, parties are asked to make comments in the "Comments by parties" pseudo-sections so that Arbitrators can easily identify the opinions of parties about the various proposals.

Since parties are the users directly involved in the dispute, they have a much higher chance of being named in the final decision in some way, usually as part of a formal sanction. However, being a party does not necessarily mean you will be sanctioned as part of the final decision, nor does not being a party exempt you from that fate (however, a non-party being sanctioned is considerably rare).

Uninvolved editors
Any user is welcome to participate in an Arbitration case, and in fact comments from uninvolved editors can help bring a fresh, unbiased viewpoint into the proceedings.

General conduct
remainder unchanged from Hersfold's version.