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(1) Courts of arbitration shall be set up at least at party level and at the top-level regional branches to settle and decide on disputes between the party or a regional branch and individual members as well as on disputes over the interpretation and implementation of the statutes. Joint courts of arbitration may be set up for several regional branches at district level.
(2) The members of the arbitration courts shall be elected for a maximum of four years. They must not be members of the executive committee of the party or a regional branch, be employed by the party or a regional branch, nor receive regular income from them. They shall be independent and not be subject to instructions.
(3) The statutes may provide for the arbitration courts to comprise, in general or in particular cases, associate judges nominated on a parity basis by the litigants.
(4) The functions of the arbitration court shall be governed by an arbitration court code designed to guarantee litigants a legal hearing, fair proceedings and the challenge of a member of the arbitration court for bias.