Arbitration Committee (Wikimedia)

On Wikimedia Foundation projects, an arbitration committee (ArbCom) is a binding dispute resolution panel of editors. All Wikimedia projects are editorially autonomous and independent, and some of them have established their own arbitration committees that work according to rules developed by the project's editors and are usually annually elected by their communities. The arbitration committees generally address misconduct by administrators and editors with access to advanced tools, and a range of "real-world" issues related to harmful conduct that can arise in the context of Wikimedia 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 arbitration committee.

The first Wikimedia project to use an arbitration committee was the Swedish Wikipedia with Tinget, instigated by its co-founder Dan Koehl. This wiki "thing" of 24 November, 2002 became the first body akin to an arbitration committee on any Wikipedia language version, effectively making the Swedish Wikipedia the first decentralised project while the rest of Wikipedia was still under Jimmy Wales' direct personal supervision.

This initiative soon inspired the widely covered English Wikipedia Committee. Over time, other Wikimedia projects have established arbitration committees as well.

The English Wikipedia ArbCom was created by Jimmy Wales on December 4, 2003, as an extension of the decision-making power he formerly held as CEO of site-owner Bomis. Wales appointed members of the committee either in person or by email following advisory elections; Wales generally appointed editors who received the most votes to the ArbCom.

The English Wikipedia's ArbCom acts as a final panel for disputes among editors and has been described in the media as "quasi-judicial" and a Wikipedian "High or Supreme Court", although the Committee states this is not accurate and does not serve as a formal court of law. The English Wikipedia's ArbCom has decided several hundred cases in its history. The arbitration committee process has been examined by academics researching dispute resolution, and has been reported in public media in connection with case decisions and Wikipedia-related controversies.