Dispute Resolution

Family arbitration is a confidential and privately funded form of dispute resolution. The parties agree to bring their issues before a suitably qualified person (an ‘arbitrator’), usually, a senior barrister with extensive experience in family law, who will conduct an arbitration to resolve the issues in line with the rules of the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators. In a family arbitration, the parties appoint the arbitrator to determine a dispute on such terms as they may agree; for example, they may require that the arbitrator hears evidence or determines a specific issue or agree that the dispute may be determined on paper. After the arbitrator reviews the evidence and considers the parties’ arguments, the arbitrator will prepare and provide a written decision (‘the Award’), which – except in exceptional cases – will be made into a court order on an expedited basis. This means that the decision, once accepted, is legally binding and enforceable, just like a court ruling.