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Beckwith v SRA – an analysis of the Court’s landmark decision
Iain Miller
For many, the prospect of attending a court hearing to decide upon the future of your family or finances can be a daunting process. Courts tend to be formal, overwhelming and expensive. Thankfully, court is not the only option and alternative dispute resolution methods, such as arbitration or mediation, can often assist in achieving a more amicable, timely and economical resolution.
The family courts are struggling to cope with the volume of cases on its lists and the government has tried to divert suitable cases away from the court system to arbitration or mediation. Arbitration, which involves a judgment imposed by a privately chosen arbitrator rather than by a judge in the formal court process, has received judicial encouragement by Sir James Munby in the case of S v S [2014] EWHC 7 (Fam) where the president of the family division said that “there is no conceptual difference between the parties making an agreement and agreeing to give an arbitrator the power to make a decision for them”.
Arbitration to become available for couples wishing to resolve children disputes
Currently, arbitration can only be used to resolve financial disputes between couples going through a divorce. However, a new Family Law Children Arbitration Scheme has been announced and will be launched later this year. This new scheme will cover private law children disputes including disputes as to where children should live, the amount of time children should spend with each parent and internal relocation disputes. At the moment, unless you choose to mediate or can resolve the situation without assistance, the only route available to you to resolve a dispute over your children is to go to court. Once this new scheme is available, you will be able to access the faster and often more efficient process which is family arbitration.
Family arbitration has been growing in popularity in recent years after the initial concerns, e,g, regarding cost and whether the awards would be upheld by the court, have been alleviated. Arbitration is often quicker and cheaper than going through the court process and only in exceptional circumstances can you back away from the award. Arbitration has been used for years as a successful method of resolving commercial and construction disputes.
There are many benefits to arbitration, including:
Further information
If you would like any further information on alternatives to litigation through the courts, please click here or contact Charlotte Bradley or another member of our family team.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
Iain Miller
Emily Greig
Terrence Donovan
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