On Wikimedia Foundation projects, anArbitration 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 individualWikimedia 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 theSwedish Wikipedia.[2] TheEnglish Wikipedia ArbCom was created byJimmy 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.
Committees typically have five to fifteen members, who are known asArbitrators. Terms vary in length, with some as long as three years.
| 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 | |
| fa –Persian | هیئت نظارت | 2010 | Limited purview, mainly a supervisory council for complaints against admins | ||
| fi –Finnish | Välityslautakunta | 2007 | arbcom-fi.wikipedia.org | ||
| 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 | |
| pl –Polish | Komitet Arbitrażowy | 2007 | wikipedia-pl-arbcomlistswikimediaorg | ||
| ru –Russian | Арбитражный комитет | 2005 | arbcom-ruwikimediaorg | arbcom-ru.wikipedia.org | New every half-a-year |
| uk –Ukrainian | Арбітражний комітет | 2009 | |||
| zh –Chinese | 仲裁委员会/仲裁委員會 | 2025 | arbcom-zhwikimediaorg | wikipedia-zh-arbcom.wikimedia.org | Idea rejectedseveral times, until therecent 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. |