1. The process of taking evidence to determine the truth about a disputed point of fact.
2. Int’l law. The gathering of information for purposes of international relations, including the peaceful settlement of disputes and the supervision of international agreements. • Examples of fact-finding include legislative tours and the acquisition of information required for making decisions at an international level.
— Also termed inquiry.
“[F]act-finding must be as impartial and as fair to the parties as procedural and evidentiary rules can render it without making the inquiry’s task impossible, not merely for ethical reasons, but in order to maximize the credibility and impact of the facts found. To this end, fact-finders must develop procedures that sharply distinguish them from those bodies that assemble prosecutorial evidence.” Thomas M. Franck & H. Scott Fairley, Procedural Due Process in Human Rights Fact-Finding by International Agencies, 74 Am. J. Int’l L. 308, 310 (1980).
3. A method of alternative dispute resolution in which an impartial third party determines and studies the facts and positions of disputing parties that have reached an impasse, with a view toward clarifying the issues and helping the parties work through their dispute. [Cases: Arbitration
1. C.J.S. Arbitration §§ 2–3.]
