Pennsylvania § 7383 - Powers and duties of arbitrator.

§ 7383. Powers and duties of arbitrator.

(a) Fairness and expediency.--An arbitrator shall conduct an arbitration in a manner the arbitrator considers appropriate for a fair and expeditious disposition of the family law dispute.

(b) Procedural due process.--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.

(c) Powers.--Unless the parties otherwise agree in a record, an arbitrator may:

(1) select the rules for conducting the arbitration;

(2) hold a conference with the parties before a hearing;

(3) determine the date, time and place of a hearing;

(4) require a party to provide:

(i) a copy of a relevant court order;

(ii) information required to be disclosed in a family law proceeding under 23 Pa.C.S. (relating to domestic relations) and the applicable Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure; and

(iii) a proposed award which addresses each issue in arbitration;

(5) interview a child who is the subject of a child custody dispute;

(6) appoint a private expert at the expense of the parties;

(7) 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;

(8) permit and compel discovery concerning the family law dispute and determine the date, time and place of discovery;

(9) determine the admissibility and weight of evidence;

(10) permit deposition of a witness for use as evidence at a hearing;

(11) for good cause, prohibit a party from disclosing information;

(12) appoint an attorney, guardian ad litem or other representative for a child at the expense of the parties;

(13) impose a procedure to protect a party or child from risk of harm, harassment or intimidation;

(14) allocate arbitration fees, attorney fees, expert witness fees and other costs to the parties; and

(15) 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.

(d) Ex-parte communications.--An arbitrator may not allow ex parte communication except to the extent allowed in a family law proceeding for communication with a judge.

Cross References. Section 7383 is referred to in sections 7380, 7389 of this title.