Referee – in most jurisdictions this term details the figure of a legal practitioner who decides on a lawsuit. But in different usage it has different meaning:

– Referee could be the judge or arbitrator who hears and decides on legal disputes. He proclaims what the Laws is, and on which party it resides.

– In some legal systems, the figure of the referee (considered as law practitioner) has only consulting function towards the judge who hears and decides on the lawsuit.

– Referee in bankruptcy – within the area of Bankruptcy Law in many jurisdictions this is a governmental employee who performs and completes bankruptcy procedures against local corporate bodies that are not able to meet their debts. The goal here is to sell the assets of the debtor and to satisfy the creditors. Somewhere he is known as “bankruptcy judge”.

A synonym of referee is “arbiter”.