Editing Incubator escapee wiki:Arbitration/Policy (section)

== Arbitration proceedings ==

=== Jurisdiction ===

The Committee has jurisdiction within the English Wikipedia.

The Committee has no jurisdiction over: (i) official actions of the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] or its staff; (ii) Wikimedia projects other than the English Wikipedia; or (iii) conduct outside the English Wikipedia.

The Committee may take notice of conduct outside its jurisdiction when making decisions about conduct on the English Wikipedia if such outside conduct impacts or has the potential to impact adversely upon the English Wikipedia or its editors.

The Committee retains jurisdiction over all matters heard by it, including associated enforcement processes, and may, at its sole discretion, revisit any proceeding at any time.

=== Requesting arbitration ===

Requests for arbitration must be presented in the manner designated by the Committee. The Committee may accept or decline any matter at its sole discretion; it will take into account, but will not be bound by, the views of the parties to the request and other interested users.

=== Forms of proceeding ===
; Standard proceedings{{anchor|Standard proceedings}} : By default, hearings are public and follow the procedures published on the relevant arbitration pages.
; Summary proceedings{{anchor|Summary proceedings}} : Where the facts of a matter are substantially undisputed, the Committee may resolve the dispute by motion.
; Private hearings{{anchor|Private hearings}} : In exceptional circumstances, typically where significant privacy, harassment, or legal issues are involved, the Committee may hold a hearing in private. The parties will be notified of the private hearing and be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to what is said about them before a decision is made.
; {{anchor|appeals}}Appeals : Appeals by blocked, banned, or similarly restricted users are usually conducted by email.

=== Participation ===

Decisions are reached by a majority vote of active, non-recused arbitrators. An arbitrator whose term expires while a case is pending may remain active on that case until its conclusion. Newly appointed arbitrators may become active on any matter before the Committee with immediate effect from the date of their appointment.

Statements may be added to case pages by any interested editor. Editors are expected to respond to statements about themselves; failure to do so may result in decisions being made without their participation. All editors are required to act reasonably, civilly, and with decorum on arbitration case pages, and may face sanctions if they fail to do so.

=== Admissibility of evidence===

In all proceedings, admissible evidence includes: 
# All Wikipedia edits and log entries, including deleted or otherwise hidden edits and log entries;
# Edits and log entries from Wikimedia projects other than the English Wikipedia, where appropriate; and 
# Posts to [[Wikipedia:Mailing lists|official mailing lists]]. 

Evidence from [[Wikipedia:Mediation Committee|official mediation]] is admissible only with the express prior written consent of the Mediation Committee.<ref group=note>The Mediation Committee was disbanded on November 12, 2018 as a result of [[Wikipedia:Village_pump_(proposals)/Archive_154#RFC:Close_MedCom?|an RfC]].</ref>

Evidence based on private communications (including, but not limited to, other websites, forums, chat rooms, IRC logs, email correspondence) is admissible only by prior consent of the Committee and only in exceptional circumstances. 

Evidence may be submitted privately, but the Committee normally expects evidence to be posted publicly unless there are compelling reasons not to do so. The Committee will decide whether to admit each submission of private evidence on its own merits and, if admitted, the evidence will be considered at a [[#Private hearings|private hearing]].

=== Temporary injunctions ===

At any time between the request for a case being made and the closure of the case, the Committee may issue temporary injunctions, restricting the conduct of the parties, or users generally, for the duration of the case.

=== Format of decisions ===

Decisions are written in clear, concise standard English and usually: (i) outline the salient principles, (ii) make findings of fact, (iii) set out remedies and rulings, and (iv) specify any enforcement arrangements. Where the meaning of any provision is unclear to any arbitrator, the parties, or other interested editors, it will be clarified upon request.

=== Policy and precedent ===

The arbitration process is not a vehicle for creating new policy by fiat. The Committee's decisions may interpret existing policy and guidelines, recognise and call attention to standards of user conduct, or create procedures through which policy and guidelines may be enforced. The Committee does not rule on content, but may propose means by which community resolution of a content dispute can be facilitated.

While the Committee will typically take into account its earlier decisions when deciding new cases, previous decisions do not create binding precedent. As community policies, guidelines and norms evolve over time, previous decisions will be taken into account only to the extent that they remain relevant in the current context.

=== Appeal of decisions ===

Any editor may ask the Committee to reconsider or amend a ruling, which the Committee may accept or decline at its discretion. The Committee may require a minimum time to have elapsed since the enactment of the ruling, or since any prior request for reconsideration, before reviewing it.