FACT-FINDING
fact-finding. 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).
- 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
- C.J.S. Arbitration §§ 2–3.][Blacks Law 8th]