When submitting their disputes to arbitration the parties place an incredible amount of trust on the integrity of the arbitration process and of the ethical compass of the arbitrator. Recognizing this responsibility, in 1951 the National Academy of Arbitrators, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and the American Arbitration Association collaborated on the writing and implementation of a “Code of Ethics and Procedural Standards for Labor Management Arbitration.” Later (1972) along with other amendments it was renamed “Code of Professional Responsibility for Arbitrators of Labor Management Disputes “.
From time-to-time the NAA’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Grievances interprets the Code in the form of “Advisory Opinions”.
As a way of enforcement, each of the organizations involved in drafting the code of ethics provides a mechanism by which the parties to arbitration can file complaints as to whether an arbitrator subject to the Code has conducted him or herself consistent with its rules. Information on the FMCS process can be found here; for the NAA here, and for the AAA here.