Is
an arbitrator a judge? The proposed answer to this question is in three stages:
1. The arbitrator is, in appearance, a judge. The various legal texts provide
indications to this effect. 2. However, what is a judge? A definition is
attempted, where one notes both that an arbitrator is a “super-judge” — in
relation to requirements of legitimacy, authority and rationality — and that he
is distinct from a judge acting within the juridical sphere. The judge, a ventriloquist
oracle, and the arbitrator, a voiceless prophet. 3. To conclude, an arbitrator
is, in substance, a judge, who like the latter is fettered by an obligation of wisdom.