Unlike most NCDR where the aim is to try to reach agreement, in arbitrations the parties ask a specialist, qualified Arbitrator to make a decision for them. That decision is binding upon the parties in the same way as a court judgment would be. The benefits for the parties are:
The nature of the arbitration can be tailored to the parties’ requirements, from a full scale private final hearing, with cross examination and oral submissions, down to single discrete issues which could be determined on paper. In CM v CM [2019] EWFC 16, Mr Justice Moor stated in relation to a disputed letter of instruction to an expert that: “If, however, in a future case, there is a genuine issue as to drafting, I consider it would be exactly the sort of matter that should be referred to an arbitrator who is accredited by the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators.”
Financial arbitrations cover the whole range of family financial disputes, whether between married couples or unmarried couples or family members in disputes under the Inheritance Act 1975. Disputes concerning children can also be decided by an Arbitrator accredited under the Family Law Arbitration Children Scheme.
