Ethics Stds. for Neutral Arbitrators, std. 16
Compensation
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
(a) An arbitrator must not charge any fee for services or expenses that is in any way contingent on the result or outcome of the arbitration.
(b) Before accepting appointment, an arbitrator, a dispute resolution provider organization, or another person or entity acting on the arbitrator's behalf must inform all parties in writing of the terms and conditions of the arbitrator's compensation. This information must include any basis to be used in determining fees; any special fees for cancellation, research and preparation time, or other purposes; any requirements regarding advance deposit of fees; and any practice concerning situations in which a party fails to timely pay the arbitrator's fees, including whether the arbitrator will or may stop the arbitration proceedings.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
(Subd (b) amended effective July 1, 2014.)
Standard 16 amended effective July 1, 2014.
Advisory Committee Comment
This standard is not intended to affect any authority a court may have to make orders with respect to the enforcement of arbitration agreements or arbitrator fees. It is also not intended to require any arbitrator or arbitration provider organization to establish a particular requirement or practice concerning fees or deposits, but only to inform the parties if such a requirement or practice has been established.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/ethics/ethics16
- Text hash
- sha256 d9b43cef04a5b303f8cad5a2d226328041b45658bb0447d5effa1f8f4fdaed77
- Composed by
- compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.