Wikipedia:Arbitration/Policy

"WP:AP" redirects here. For article probation, see Wikipedia:General sanctions. For attack pages, see Wikipedia:Attack page. For the Amusement Parks WikiProject, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Amusement Parks. For the autopatrolled userright, see Wikipedia:Autopatrolled. For the entry regarding the Associated Press at the perennial reliable sources list, see WP:RSPAP.

This policy governs the Arbitration Committee, arbitration proceedings and arbitration processes. It was ratified by the community on 13 June 2011 and last amended on 23 May 2023. An extension of the arbitration policy, for CheckUser and Oversight permissions, is at Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/CheckUser and Oversight.

Procedures that supplement and implement this policy are at Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Procedures and Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/Clerks/Procedures.

The Arbitration Committee

Scope and responsibilities

The Arbitration Committee of the English Wikipedia has the following duties and responsibilities:

1. To act as a final binding decision-maker primarily for serious conduct disputes the community has been unable to resolve;
2. To hear appeals from blocked, banned, or otherwise restricted users;
3. To handle requests (other than self-requests) for removal of administrative tools;
4. To resolve matters unsuitable for public discussion for privacy, legal, or similar reasons;
5. To approve and remove access to (i) CheckUser and Oversight tools and (ii) mailing lists maintained by the Arbitration Committee.

Selection and appointment

Members of the Committee are appointed following annual elections organized and run by the community. Candidates must:

1. Meet the Wikimedia Foundation's criteria for access to non-public personal data and confirm in their election statement they will fully comply with the criteria; and
2. Disclose any alternate accounts in their election statements. Legitimate accounts which have been declared to the Arbitration Committee prior to the close of nominations need not be publicly disclosed.

In exceptional circumstances, the Committee may call interim elections, in a format similar to that of the regular annual elections, if it determines that arbitrator resignations or inactivity have created an immediate need for additional arbitrators.

Conduct of arbitrators

Arbitrators are expected to:

1. Act with integrity and good faith at all times;
2. Respond promptly and appropriately to questions from other arbitrators, or from the community, about conduct which appears to conflict with their trusted roles;
3. Participate conscientiously in the Committee's activities and deliberations, advising the Committee of upcoming inactivity if that inactivity will likely last more than a week; and
4. Preserve in appropriate confidence the contents of private correspondence sent to the Committee and the Committee's internal discussions and deliberations.

Any arbitrator who repeatedly or grossly fails to meet the expectations outlined above may be suspended or removed by Committee resolution supported by two-thirds of all arbitrators excluding:

1. The arbitrator facing suspension or removal, and;
2. Any inactive arbitrator who does not respond within 30 days to attempts to solicit their feedback on the resolution through all known methods of communication.