User:Mz7/Nuclear option
 | This is an essay on the arbitration policy. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Ordinarily, the community cannot directly overrule decisions of the Arbitration Committee per WP:CONEXCEPT, but in theory, it could do so on an extraordinary basis by exploiting the arbitration policy's amendment procedure. |
The arbitration policy is the document which establishes the English Wikipedia Arbitration Committee and delineates its roles and responsibilities. The policy allows the community to amend the policy by following a two-step procedure.
Ordinarily, community consensus cannot overrule the Arbitration Committee's decisions—see WP:CONEXCEPT. However, in an extraordinary scenario in which the community has completely lost confidence in the current Arbitration Committee, it has the ability to use the arbitration policy's amendment procedure to overrule the Arbitration Committee on an extraordinary basis. This could be thought of as the community's nuclear option, a reference to an extraordinary procedure in the U.S. Senate that allows a simple majority to overcome the usual supermajority threshold needed to avoid a filibuster.
This is quite the bureaucratic process, but it is currently the only procedure within policy that allows the community to overrule specific arbitration decisions outside of (1) asking the Committee to overrule their own decision, and (2) annual elections (i.e. voting for or running as candidates that promise to overrule certain decisions). Historically, an appeal to Jimbo Wales existed an option, but this was removed in May 2023.[1]
Examples[edit]
To invoke the procedure, an editor will need to start two consecutive requests for comments (RfCs):
- Petition phase: a petition to amend the arbitration policy must first be signed by 100 editors in good standing (see here for an example).
- Referendum phase: if the petition is signed by 100 editors, then the amendment will "undergo formal ratification through a community referendum and will enter into force once it receives majority support, with at least one hundred editors voting in favour of adopting it" (see here for an example).
Overruling specific decisions[edit]
It is proposed that the following text be appended to the arbitration policy:
The Arbitration Committee decision as of 7 May 2024 [description of decision] is hereby overruled, effective immediately upon the ratification of this amendment. The Arbitration Committee will not be permitted to reinstate that decision without first obtaining consensus from the community in a well-attended request for comment in support of such action.
Dissolving the Arbitration Committee[edit]
It is proposed that the following text be appended to the arbitration policy:
All members of Arbitration Committee as of 7 May 2024 are hereby dismissed, effective immediately upon the ratification of this amendment. The community will organize interim elections to appoint new arbitrators as soon as procedurally possible.
See also WP:ACERFC2019#Procedures for emergency elections.