Issue to be decided

Most often, the parties will stipulate (or agree) to the issue to be decided by the arbitrator.  Otherwise, they may give the arbitrator the authority to formulate the issue, or it may be defined by their collective bargaining agreement. An arbitrator only has jurisdiction to decide the issue(s) raised by the parties at the hearing.  Courts have vacated arbitration awards where an arbitrator has gone beyond the issue(s) presented by the parties.