NC · rules
N.C. Canons of Ethics for Arbitrators Canon IV
An arbitrator shall conduct proceedings fairly and diligently.
A. An arbitrator shall conduct proceedings in an evenhanded manner and
treat all parties with equality and fairness at all stages of the proceedings.
B. An arbitrator shall perform duties diligently and conclude the case as
promptly as circumstances reasonably permit.
C. An arbitrator shall be patient, dignified and courteous to parties, their
lawyers, witnesses, and all others with whom the arbitrator deals in that capacity
and shall encourage similar conduct by all participants in the proceedings. This does
not preclude an arbitrator’s imposing sanctions if permitted by law or by the parties’
agreement.
D. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties or provided in arbitration rules
to which the parties have agreed, an arbitrator shall accord to all parties the right to
appear in person and to be heard after due notice of the time and place of hearing.
E. An arbitrator shall not deny a party the opportunity to be represented
by counsel.
F. If a party fails to appear after due notice, an arbitrator may proceed with
the arbitration when authorized to do so by the parties or by law. An arbitrator may
do so only after receiving assurance that notice has been given to the absent party.
G. When an arbitrator determines that more information than has been
presented by the parties is required to decide a case, it is not improper for the
arbitrator to ask questions, call witnesses, and request documents or other evidence.
H. It is not improper for an arbitrator to suggest to the parties that they
discuss settling the case. An arbitrator may not be present or otherwise participate
in settlement discussions unless asked to do so by all parties. An arbitrator may not
pressure a party to settle.
I. Nothing in these Canons is intended to prevent a person from acting as
a mediator, conciliator or other neutral in a dispute in which he or she has been
appointed as an arbitrator, if asked to do so by all parties or where authorized or
required to do so by applicable law or rules.
J. Where there is more than one arbitrator, the arbitrators shall afford
each other full opportunity to participate in all aspects of the proceedings.
K. In court-annexed arbitrations where one or more of the parties is
proceeding without counsel, at the hearing the arbitrator shall discuss the nature of
the arbitration process with all parties and counsel present, including the arbitrator’s
role, time allotted for each party’s case, order of proceedings, and the right to trial
de novo (if applicable) if a party not in default is dissatisfied with the arbitrator’s
award, unless parties waive these explanations.
History
Comment Language has been tightened, and excess verbiage has been deleted. “Shall” or “may” has been substituted for “should” throughout Canon IV; see Comment to Canon I. Canon IV.C has been amended to follow Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 3(A)(3). The final sentence recognizes that arbitrators may be empowered to impose sanctions in, e.g., court-annexed arbitration or by the parties’ agreement, in addition to the arbitrator’s ethical obligation to encourage proper conduct. Canon IV.H is consistent with Standard IV.B. Canon IV.I has been modified to take into account procedures other than mediation or conciliation, e.g., early neutral evaluation, etc. Canon IV.K has been added; it only applies to court-annexed arbitration. Where there has been an agreement to arbitrate governed by, e.g., the Uniform Act, but parties have not appointed an arbitrator pursuant to the Act an d the court does so under, History Note. 350 N.C. 876. Editor’s Note. e.g., N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-567.4, there is no reason to require that arbitrator to explain the nature of arbitration. Many court-annexed arbitrations involve small claims where parties may appear without counsel; fairness and eff iciency suggest that an explanation at the beginning of the hearing, unless waived, will expedite the proceeding. Parties in court-annexed arbitration may agree to binding arbitration with no trial de novo; if this is the case, there is no need to explain a right to trial de novo. Canon IV.K was suggested by Standard IV.A[.] See also Academy Code, ¶¶ 1.A, 2.J, 4–5; IRA Ethics Arts. 7 –8, SPIDR Standards, Responsibilities to the Parties §§ 2, 5 –6. The Uniform Act and the International Commercial Arbitration and Conciliation Act provide for representation by counsel. N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 1-567.7, 1-567.48(b). A typographical error in this canon’s comment has been corrected. The correction is noted with brackets “[].”
Provenance
- Source
- ncleg.gov; ncbar.gov; nccourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-17
- Edition
- 2026-09-17
- Content hash
f38d95704b672d8e484d666b648e4b9b745c4fdcf8dec2f28423b37e7b95a68c
The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.
Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.