North Dakota Code 32-29.4-12 – Powers and duties of arbitrator
1. An arbitrator shall conduct an arbitration in a manner the arbitrator considers appropriate for a fair and expeditious disposition of the dispute.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 32-29.4-12
- Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
2. An arbitrator shall provide each party a right to be heard, to present evidence material to the family law dispute, and to cross-examine witnesses.
3. Unless the parties otherwise agree in a record, an arbitrator’s powers include the power to:
a. Select the rules for conducting the arbitration; b. Hold conferences with the parties before a hearing; c. Determine the date, time, and place of a hearing; d. Require a party to provide:
(1) A copy of a relevant court order; (2) Information required to be disclosed in a family law proceeding under law of this state other than this chapter; and
(3) A proposed award that addresses each issue in arbitration; e. Appoint a private expert at the expense of the parties; f. Administer an oath or affirmation and issue a subpoena for the attendance of a witness or the production of documents and other evidence at a hearing; g. Compel discovery concerning the family law dispute and determine the date, time, and place of discovery; h. Determine the admissibility and weight of evidence; i. Permit deposition of a witness for use as evidence at a hearing; j. For good cause, prohibit a party from disclosing information; k. Impose a procedure to protect a party or child from risk of harm, harassment, or intimidation; l. Allocate arbitration fees, attorney’s fees, expert-witness fees, and other costs to the parties; and
m. Impose a sanction on a party for bad faith or misconduct during the arbitration according to standards governing imposition of a sanction for litigant misconduct in a family law proceeding.
4. An arbitrator may not allow ex parte communication except to the extent allowed in a family law proceeding for communication with a judge.