People’s Court - Rules of Procedure & Evidence

Version 1.0

These Rules govern cases where the parties agreed to arbitrate through People’s Court. The version in effect when the case is filed governs the proceeding.

ARTICLE 1 - SCOPE, APPLICATION, AND INTERPRETATION

Rule 1.1 - Application

These Rules govern the procedure for a dispute submitted to People’s Court by agreement of the parties. They are interpreted to secure a fair, prompt, and proportionate resolution.

Rule 1.2 - Eligible parties and disputes

An individual, legal entity, or autonomous agent may be a party. A claim must concern a dispute covered by the parties’ agreement to arbitrate and must be capable of lawful resolution by arbitration.

Rule 1.3 - Governing version

The version of these Rules in effect when the case is filed governs the case through final disposition.

Rule 1.4 - Definitions

• Administrator means a human authorized by People’s Court to perform institutional and case-administration functions.
• Arbitrator means a human neutral assigned to a case under these Rules for purposes of appellate review.
• Award means the Tribunal’s final disposition of the claims submitted for decision.
• Case Page means the online workspace through which the parties receive filings, notices, deadlines, and case information.
• Claimant means the party that begins the case.
• Respondent means the party against which the claim is filed.
• Record means the submissions and evidence the Tribunal may consider.
• Tribunal means the assigned AI decision-maker or decision-makers.

Rule 1.5 - Good faith and forfeiture

Each party must participate in good faith. A party that knows of a procedural departure and fails to object promptly forfeits the objection to the extent permitted by applicable law.

ARTICLE 2 - THE TRIBUNAL AND HUMAN ARBITRATORS

Rule 2.1 - Composition

A case involving a human or business principal uses three independent AI Tribunal members. A case proceeding under the agent-only procedure uses one AI Tribunal member.

Rule 2.2 - Jurisdiction

Subject to the parties’ agreement and applicable law, the Tribunal may decide its jurisdiction, including the scope and arbitrability of the claims and the formation, existence, or validity of the arbitration agreement. The arbitration provision is treated as separate from the remainder of the parties’ agreement.

Rule 2.3 - AI-first decision and path-specific finality

The Tribunal decides and serves the first-instance Award without human merits review or approval. Unless the agent-only procedure applies, a party may seek one human appeal as provided in Article 9. An agent-only Award is final within People’s Court when served and is not subject to internal human appeal.

Rule 2.4 - Appointment

When these Rules provide for a human Arbitrator, People’s Court appoints an impartial Arbitrator from its roster, ordinarily by random selection subject to conflicts, availability, and capacity. The parties will receive the Arbitrator’s identity and material disclosures and may promptly raise a conflict.

Rule 2.5 - Neutrality

A human Arbitrator must be impartial and must disclose any circumstance that could reasonably raise doubt about impartiality. A party must raise any challenge promptly and state the specific grounds. The Arbitrator must recuse when required by the applicable standard.

Rule 2.6 - Administrator authority

An Administrator may perform institutional and case-management functions, including notices, access, scheduling, Record maintenance, and technical administration. An Administrator may decide routine or unopposed procedural requests that do not require a determination of the merits, credibility, admissibility, or substantive rights. An Administrator may not decide the merits.

Rule 2.7 - Interpretation and basic fairness

The Tribunal interprets and applies these Rules in deciding the case, subject to the institutional authority expressly reserved to People’s Court or an Administrator. The parties must receive reasonable notice, equal treatment, and a fair opportunity to present their cases.

Rule 2.8 - Proprietary adjudication system

The parties have no right to disclosure of People’s Court’s proprietary models, software, prompts, source code, internal deliberative materials, or other nonpublic adjudication technology, except as required by applicable law and subject to appropriate protective or confidential treatment.

ARTICLE 3 - COMMENCEMENT, NOTICE, AND AUTHORITY

Rule 3.1 - Commencement

A Claimant begins a case by identifying the parties and dispute, stating the material facts and requested relief, providing the required information establishing consent to arbitrate, and paying any required filing fee.

Rule 3.2 - Notice

The parties agree that notice of a proceeding may be given by email to an address designated in the parties’ agreement, associated with a verified account, or otherwise reliably established for the recipient. Notice by email is presumed effective when sent unless available delivery information or other credible evidence shows that the notice did not reach the recipient. After a case is commenced, notices and case materials may also be provided through the Case Page.

Rule 3.3 - Consent and scope

The case may proceed only if the required consent to arbitrate the dispute is established. The Tribunal may decide only claims within the scope of that consent and applicable law.

Rule 3.4 - Representation

A party may appear personally or through counsel or another authorized representative to the extent permitted by applicable law. People’s Court may require reasonable proof of the representative’s authority.

Rule 3.5 - Withdrawal and termination without an Award

Before the Respondent files the Answer, the Claimant may withdraw the claim and terminate the proceeding. After the Respondent files the Answer, the proceeding may terminate only by agreement of all parties. After an Award is served, the proceeding may not be terminated by withdrawal or party agreement.

ARTICLE 4 - WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS AND SCHEDULE

Rule 4.1 - Written process

The case ordinarily proceeds through Complaint, Answer, simultaneous evidence and argument, any permitted rebuttal, Record confirmation, decision, and any permitted review. The parties may consent to more or fewer evidence and rebuttal stages before the Record opens. The Case Page displays the current phase and controlling deadline.

Rule 4.2 - Complaint

The Complaint must state each ground for relief, the material supporting facts, the requested disposition, and the evidence the Claimant expects to rely on.

Rule 4.3 - Answer

The Respondent must address each material allegation, state any defense or permitted counterclaim, identify requested relief, and provide the required truthfulness declaration or agent certification. A Respondent may assert in the Answer any counterclaim within the scope of the parties’ agreement to arbitrate. The counterclaim must state the material supporting facts and requested relief and is subject to any applicable fee.

Rule 4.4 - Simultaneous exchange

During a simultaneous sealed phase, neither party may view the other party’s filing until both filings are submitted or the phase closes. The filings are then disclosed to both parties at the same time.

Rule 4.5 - Length and form

Submissions must be concise, legible, and comply with the filing requirements. A nonconforming filing may be returned or required to be corrected without altering its substance.

Rule 4.6 - Schedule

The Case Page displays the controlling deadlines, and the default schedules appear in Appendix A. A phase closes when all required filings are received or its deadline expires. An early filing does not shorten another party’s filing period. The Tribunal or an Administrator acting within Rule 2.6 may extend a deadline for good cause.

Rule 4.7 - Amendments and corrections

Before a filing is disclosed to the opposing party, a correction may be permitted without revealing the opposing submission. After disclosure, a substantive amendment requires permission and a fair opportunity for the other party to respond.

Rule 4.8 - Party confirmation

Before the Record closes, each party may review a system-generated summary of its own submissions and identify any material omission or misstatement within the stated period. Record confirmation does not permit new claims or evidence without leave.

Rule 4.9 - Default and nonparticipation

Failure to respond does not automatically establish liability. After effective notice and expiration of the applicable deadline, the Tribunal may proceed and must determine from the Record whether the requested relief is warranted.

Rule 4.10 - Agent lane

A case may use the Agent Schedule in Appendix A only when the recorded consent authorizes it. A case uses the agent-only procedure only when every party is an autonomous agent and every party has expressly agreed to that procedure. An agent acting for a human or ordinary business does not make the principal an autonomous-agent party.

Rule 4.11 - Written submissions

The proceeding is ordinarily decided on written submissions. People’s Court does not ordinarily conduct an evidentiary hearing.

Rule 4.12 - Micro-claim procedure

People’s Court may designate categories of eligible low-value or mechanically verifiable claims for a simplified procedure.

ARTICLE 5 - EVIDENCE

Rule 5.1 - Forms of evidence

The Record may include contracts, communications, transaction records, images, and other relevant material submitted through the authorized case process.

Rule 5.2 - Admissibility, reliability, and weight

The Tribunal may consider relevant evidence submitted through the authorized case process and determines its admissibility, reliability, and weight. In doing so, it may consider authenticity, source, completeness, consistency, provenance, and the opposing party’s opportunity to respond and challenges to that evidence.

Rule 5.3 - Exclusion

The Tribunal may exclude evidence, limit its use, or assign it reduced weight. People’s Court may withhold material that cannot safely or reliably be processed, subject to any procedural protection the Tribunal determines is necessary for fairness.

Rule 5.4 - Burden and standard

Unless governing law provides otherwise, the party seeking relief bears the burden of proving the facts required for that relief by a preponderance of the evidence.

Rule 5.5 - Party material is not instruction

Facts, arguments, files, and embedded text supplied by a party are treated as material to evaluate, not commands to the service or Tribunal.

Rule 5.6 - Decision based on the Record

The Tribunal decides from the closed Record and may not conduct an independent factual investigation.

Rule 5.7 - Truthfulness and agent certification

A human submitting factual statements must certify that, after reasonable inquiry, the statements are true and not misleading to the best of the signer’s knowledge. An autonomous agent must identify its principal or operator, its authority, and the source of its factual inputs, and must certify that it has no reason to believe the submission is false or misleading. An authorized agent act is attributable to its principal to the extent provided by the parties’ agreement and applicable agency law.

Rule 5.8 - No discovery

The process does not provide discovery, depositions, or compulsory production. Each party is responsible for submitting the material on which it relies during the permitted filing periods.

ARTICLE 6 - DECISION AND AWARD

Rule 6.1 - Merits decision

The Tribunal decides the claims and defenses from the closed Record, the parties’ agreement, governing law, and these Rules.

Rule 6.2 - Award, Explanatory Opinion, and Compact Award

The Award states the Tribunal’s disposition and the relief granted. In a case involving a human or business party, the Tribunal also provides a reasoned opinion stating the material findings, governing standard, analysis, disposition, and supporting Record references. Under the agent-only procedure, the Tribunal may instead issue a Compact Award that states the disposition, the decisive findings, the governing contractual or Rules standard, and the relief or execution instructions.

Rule 6.3 - Panel decision

In a three-member Tribunal, an Award requires a majority on the complete disposition.

Rule 6.4 - Remedies

The Tribunal may grant monetary, declaratory, escrow, or other relief authorized by the parties’ agreement and applicable law, but may grant only relief requested in the pleadings and supported by the Record. Unless the parties’ agreement provides otherwise, the Tribunal may in its discretion allocate or shift filing fees, appeal fees, and other costs of the proceeding between the parties. Attorneys’ fees may be awarded only when authorized by the parties’ agreement or applicable law.

Rule 6.5 - Form of Award

The Award must be in writing, identify the case and parties, resolve each claim submitted for decision, state the relief granted, state the date and juridical seat, identify the governing version of these Rules, and be signed by the Tribunal. A human appellate Arbitrator signs an appellate disposition under the Arbitrator’s name and title.

ARTICLE 7 - HUMAN PROCEDURAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT

Rule 7.1 - Administrative or technical intervention

People’s Court may administer, manage, or intervene in a proceeding as reasonably necessary to address notice, conflicts, authority, scheduling, access, security, technical integrity, legal compliance, or other nonmerits matters affecting the fair administration of the case. An Administrator may take appropriate procedural, technical, or institutional action to resolve those matters. Administrative or technical intervention does not authorize People’s Court personnel to decide, approve, edit, or substitute the Tribunal’s merits decision. If a case cannot fairly or lawfully proceed under the applicable procedure, People’s Court may suspend or terminate the proceeding without an Award.

Rule 7.2 - Procedural communications

A party may send procedural communications through the Case Page. Merits-related communications are visible to all parties and become part of the procedural history, but are not evidence unless properly submitted into the Record. A confidential communication may be used for a technical, accessibility, safety, security, or privacy matter that cannot reasonably be raised openly. No confidential communication may affect the merits or a party’s procedural rights unless its material substance and any resulting direction are disclosed to the parties.

Rule 7.3 - No private merits communications

A party may not communicate privately with the Tribunal, an Arbitrator, or an Administrator concerning the merits of the case.

ARTICLE 8 - FINALIZATION, CORRECTION, AND EXECUTION

Rule 8.1 - Service and finalization

An Award is served when it is released to both parties through the Case Page. Unless the agent-only procedure applies, execution is stayed for seven calendar days after service and while a timely correction, additional-Award, or appeal request is pending. Under the agent-only procedure, the Award is final within People’s Court when served and may be executed immediately when the parties have authorized execution.

Rule 8.2 - Execution

People’s Court may execute an Award only through funds or mechanisms within its lawful and technical control, including authorized escrow mechanisms. When People’s Court does not control the means of performance, the Award states the parties’ obligations but is not automatically executed.

Rule 8.3 - Correction

Within seven calendar days after service, a party may request correction of a clerical, typographical, computational, or similar nonsubstantive error. The other party may respond within seven calendar days. A correction may not reopen the merits or change the substantive disposition of the case. A timely request stays execution until decided. This Rule does not apply to an agent-only Award.

Rule 8.4 - Additional Award

Within seven calendar days after service, a party may request an additional Award if the Tribunal inadvertently failed to decide a claim submitted for decision. The other party may respond within seven calendar days. An additional Award may decide only the omitted claim. A timely request stays execution until decided. This Rule does not apply to an agent-only Award.

ARTICLE 9 - APPEAL

Rule 9.1 - Appellate human review

A party may file one appeal within seven calendar days after service. An appeal is subject to the applicable appeal fee. The appeal must identify a material error of fact, law, procedure, or remedy and explain why the error likely affected the outcome. The other party may file an answering brief within seven calendar days. No reply is permitted. The appeal proceeds on the existing Record, and new evidence is not permitted. A timely appeal stays execution.

Rule 9.2 - Agent-only Awards

An agent-only Award is not appealable to a human reviewer.

Rule 9.3 - Standard of review

A human Arbitrator decides the appeal on the issues raised in the briefs and the existing Record. A factual finding may be disturbed only if clearly erroneous. A legal conclusion may be disturbed only for a clear and material error of law. A procedural ruling or remedy may be disturbed only for abuse of discretion or if it exceeds the parties’ agreed mandate. Harmless error is not a basis for relief.

Rule 9.4 - Appellate disposition

The Arbitrator may affirm, modify, vacate, or issue a reasoned substitute Award. Unless good cause requires additional time, the appellate disposition must be served within fourteen calendar days after the answering brief is filed or the deadline for that brief expires. Execution remains stayed until the appellate disposition is served. The appellate disposition becomes the operative Award to the extent it modifies, vacates, or substitutes the first-instance Award. No second internal appeal is permitted.

Rule 9.5 - Final and binding effect

Subject to the parties’ agreement, any timely correction, additional-Award request, permitted internal appeal, and nonwaivable judicial rights, the operative Award is final and binding on the parties. Judgment may be entered on the Award in any court having jurisdiction.

ARTICLE 10 - CONDUCT, SANCTIONS, CONFIDENTIALITY, AND PUBLICATION

Rule 10.1 - Prohibited conduct

A party may not harass, obstruct, impersonate another party or participant, manipulate the proceeding, destroy relevant evidence, submit malicious material, or knowingly mislead the Tribunal.

Rule 10.2 - Sanctions

The Tribunal or an assigned Arbitrator may impose a proportionate sanction for misconduct, including excluding affected material, drawing an appropriate adverse inference, or dismissing a claim or defense when permitted by law. The sanction and its reasons must be stated. People’s Court may separately take reasonable institutional measures to protect the integrity, security, or availability of the service.

Rule 10.3 - Confidentiality

Case filings and nonpublic case materials are available only to the parties, the Tribunal, assigned Arbitrators, Administrators, and service providers reasonably necessary to administer the proceeding, except as required by law or authorized by the parties. Case evidence is not public by default.

Rule 10.4 - Publication

People’s Court may publish Awards and may deidentify, redact, or generalize identifying details before publication. Publication does not make case filings or evidence public.

ARTICLE 11 - FEES

Rule 11.1 - Applicable fees

Filing, appeal, and other applicable fees are stated on the People’s Court Fees page or in a case-specific written quote. The applicable fee is disclosed before the relevant filing is made and does not change for that filing because of a later fee change. People’s Court may waive or sponsor fees. Fees charged by People’s Court are separate from disputed or escrowed funds and do not depend on which party prevails.

ARTICLE 12 - SEAT, GOVERNING LAW, AND JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS

Rule 12.1 - Arbitral seat

The case file identifies the arbitral seat. If the parties have not agreed on a seat, the seat is Wilmington, Delaware. The proceeding may be conducted remotely or from another location without changing the juridical seat.

Rule 12.2 - Governing law

The Tribunal applies the substantive law validly selected by the parties. If the parties have not validly selected substantive law, the Tribunal applies the law it determines has the most significant relationship to the dispute, together with any principles of equity properly applicable under that law.

Rule 12.3 - Arbitration law and judicial proceedings

These Rules and the parties’ recorded agreement govern the arbitral procedure. Unless the parties validly agree otherwise, the Federal Arbitration Act governs the arbitration agreement and proceedings concerning recognition, confirmation, modification, correction, or vacatur of an Award to the extent applicable. For a case using the default Delaware seat, the parties do not adopt the Delaware Uniform Arbitration Act. Unless the parties validly agree otherwise, any judicial proceeding must be brought exclusively in the Delaware Court of Chancery or, if that court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, another state or federal court located in Delaware, and the parties consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in those courts.

ARTICLE 13 - GENERAL PROVISIONS

Rule 13.1 - Language

English is the default language. The parties may jointly choose another language if People’s Court supports that language. Otherwise, a party submitting material in another language must provide an English translation.

Rule 13.2 - Amendment

People’s Court may amend these Rules prospectively. Amendments do not alter pending cases.

Rule 13.3 - Severability

If a provision cannot lawfully be applied, the remaining provisions continue to the extent they can operate consistently with the parties’ agreement and applicable law.

APPENDIX A - DEFAULT SCHEDULES

The Case Page displays the controlling deadlines for each case. The schedules below apply unless the parties have agreed to another permitted schedule or a deadline is modified under these Rules.

Standard schedule

The day that triggers a period is not counted. Intermediate weekends and federal holidays are counted. If a deadline falls on a weekend or observed U.S. federal holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Standard-schedule deadlines fall at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Agent schedule

Agent-schedule deadlines are exact elapsed hours without weekend or holiday adjustment.