Law
Arbitrary comes from the Latin arbitrarius, the source of arbiter; someone who is tasked to judge some matter.[2] An arbitrary legal judgment is a decision made at the discretion of the judge, not one that is fixed by law.[3] In some countries, a prohibition of arbitrariness is enshrined into the constitution. Article 9 of the Swiss Federal Constitution theoretically overrides even democratic decisions in prohibiting arbitrary government action.[4] The US Supreme Court has overturned laws for having "no rational basis." A recent study of the U.S. asylum system suggests that arbitrariness in decision-making might be the cause of large disparities in outcomes between different adjudicators, a phenomenon described as refugee roulette.

Article 330 of the Russian penal code defines 'Arbitrariness' as a specific crime, but with a very broad definition encompassing any 'actions contrary to the order presented by a law'.