1. (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.
2. (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.

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

   1. (1) select the rules for conducting the arbitration;
   2. (2) hold a conference with the parties before a hearing;
   3. (3) determine the date, time and place of a hearing;

   4. (4) require a party to provide:

      1. (i) a copy of a relevant court order;
      2. (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
      3. (iii) a proposed award which addresses each issue in arbitration;
   5. (5) interview a child who is the subject of a child custody dispute;
   6. (6) appoint a private expert at the expense of the parties;
   7. (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. (8) permit and compel discovery concerning the family law dispute and determine the date, time and place of discovery;
   9. (9) determine the admissibility and weight of evidence;
   10. (10) permit deposition of a witness for use as evidence at a hearing;
   11. (11) for good cause, prohibit a party from disclosing information;
   12. (12) appoint an attorney, guardian ad litem or other representative for a child at the expense of the parties;
   13. (13) impose a procedure to protect a party or child from risk of harm, harassment or intimidation;
   14. (14) allocate arbitration fees, attorney fees, expert witness fees and other costs to the parties; and
   15. (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.
4. (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.