Arbitration Committee
On Wikimedia Foundation projects, an Arbitration Committee (sometimes abbreviated as "ArbCom") is a small group of trusted users who serve as a means of dispute resolution that have been initiated on some individual Wikimedia Foundation projects. Rulings, policies and procedures differ between projects depending on local and cultural contexts. According to the Wikimedia Terms of Use, users are not obliged to have a dispute solved by an ArbCom.[1] The first Wikimedia project to use an arbitration committee was the Swedish Wikipedia.[2] The English Wikipedia ArbCom was created by Jimmy Wales as an extension of the decision-making power he formerly held as CEO of site-owner Bomis Inc., to take over his role in resolving complex disputes between users.[3] Arbitration Committees are now used on 12 Wikipedia versions.
Composition
[edit]Committees typically have five to fifteen members, who are known as Arbitrators. Terms vary in length, with some as long as three years.
Projects with Arbitration Committees
[edit]Wikipedia projects
[edit]| Project | Native name | Established | Private wiki | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cs – Czech | Arbitrážní výbor | 2006 | arbcom-cs lists wikimediaorg
|
arbcom-cs.wikipedia.org | |
| de – German | Schiedsgericht | 2007 | arbcomde-llistswikimediaorg
|
arbcom-de.wikipedia.org | |
| en – English | Arbitration Committee | 2004 | arbcom-enwikimediaorg
|
arbcom-en.wikipedia.org | |
| fi – Finnish | Välityslautakunta | 2007 | arbcom-fi.wikipedia.org | ||
| fr – French | Comité de nomination | 2020 | wikipedia-fr-comite-nominationlistswikimediaorg
|
Limited purview. Not for arbitration. Serves only the ArbCom function of appointing CheckUsers and Suppressors, as stated in the policies. The French Wikipedia has another ArbCom for arbitration, but it is inactive. | |
| hu – Hungarian | Wikitanács | 2009 | |||
| it – Italian | Commissione arbitrale | 2024 | wikipedia-it-arbcomlistswikimediaorg
|
wikipedia-it-arbcom.wikimedia.org | Deals with complaints regarding the UCoC enforcement and appeals to block following a community procedure for problematic users (note: this procedure applies also to admins and could lead to deflag by community) |
| nl – Dutch | Arbitragecommissie | 2007 | arbcom-nllistswikimediaorg
|
arbcom-nl.wikipedia.org | Due to a U4C case, it's currently unclear whether nlwiki ArbCom is still active or not |
| pl – Polish | Komitet Arbitrażowy | 2007 | wikipedia-pl-arbcomlistswikimediaorg
|
wikipedia-pl-arbcom.wikimedia.org | |
| ru – Russian | Арбитражный комитет | 2005 | arbcom-ruwikimediaorg
|
arbcom-ru.wikipedia.org | New every half-a-year |
| uk – Ukrainian | Арбітражний комітет | 2009 | wikipedia-uk-arbcomlistswikimediaorg
|
||
| zh – Chinese | 仲裁委员会/仲裁委員會 | 2025 | arbcom-zhwikimediaorg
|
wikipedia-zh-arbcom.wikimedia.org | Idea rejected several times, until the recent discussion in 2024 which reached a consensus for establishment, and the first election of its members held in November 2024, with the members assuming office on January 1, 2025. |
Projects with inactive, trial, or dissolved Arbitration Committees
[edit]- Wikipedia:
- Arabic (inactive)
- Bulgarian (there is a page on arbitration policy; an ArbCom hasn't been established yet)
- Croatian (inactive)
- (First version) An ArbCom that was proposed (and discussed) in May 2007, never reached consensus
- (Second version) Existed from 7 June 2009 to 23 January 2010
- Spanish (dissolved April 2009)
- Korean (No arbitrators elected since December 2015, arbcom function suspended as of 18 March 2017.)
- Occitan (A setting up was proposed in 2006, an election has been planned in December 2008 but was never realized)
- Portuguese (dissolved January 2012)
- Swedish (inactive)
- Slovenian (