Boyd Carter is accredited to carry out Children Scheme Arbitrations and is a member of the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators. Further information can be found at: http://ifla.org.uk/what-is-arbitration/faqs/ including the following:
KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR PARTIES AND PRACTITIONERS
What is family arbitration?
Arbitration is a form of dispute resolution which takes place outside a formal court room. The parties enter into an agreement under which they appoint a suitably qualified person (an arbitrator) to adjudicate a dispute. They agree to be bound by the reasoned written decision in the arbitrator’s Determination.
What are IFLA and the IFLA Schemes?
IFLA and the IFLA Schemes are the result of collaboration between Resolution, the Family Law Bar Association (FLBA), The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and the Centre for Child and Family Law Reform (CCFLR). The IFLA Children Arbitration Scheme rolled out in 2016. Full details can be found at: http://ifla.org.uk/
Who takes the decision?
IFLA Arbitrations are conducted by members of a Panel of trained and accredited arbitrators. Panel members are all Members of CIArb and are listed on the IFLA website. The administration of the Schemes is managed by Resolution on behalf of IFLA, and the training and regulation of arbitrators are supervised by CIArb.
What areas does the Children Arbitration Scheme cover?
Generally, any issue between parents or other persons holding parental responsibility or a sufficient interest in a child’s present or future welfare
• Where a child should live including shared living arrangements
• Visiting arrangements including holiday time to be spent with a non residential parent
• Education
• Disputes concerning routine medical treatment which is not life-threatening
What areas are not covered by the Children Arbitration Scheme?
• Applications to have a child returned to this jurisdiction (that is to say, England or Wales) from another country
• Applications to remove a child from this jurisdiction, whether permanently or for a temporary period (e.g. for a holiday) to another country, or to regulate cross-border contact arrangements
• Disputes concerning the authorisation or management of life-changing or life-threatening medical treatment
• Any dispute where a person under 18 years old has parental responsibility for the child
• Any case where a party to the proposed arbitration lacks capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005
Arbitrations only bind those who are parties to an arbitration agreement, but arbitrators have no jurisdiction over any other person or organisation.
What are the benefits of family arbitration?
The principal benefits of arbitration are:
• Speed
Subject to the arbitrator’s availability, the timetable is up to the parties to agree. The parties avoid the risk of a case being adjourned or not finished because of pressure on court time or a judge becoming unavailable. An arbitration is likely to take significantly less time from start to final Determination than the court process.
• Confidentiality
The entire process is protected by strict confidentiality under the Rules of both Schemes.
• Costs
The parties pay the arbitrator’s fees, the cost of any venue which is hired, and the cost of a transcription service, if required. However, the ability to limit disclosure and the scope of the dispute, if properly utilised by the parties, should in many cases lead to a net cost saving, since the parties may be able to agree to slim the case down and concentrate on the essential points to be decided.
• Flexibility
Under the Rules of the Schemes the parties and the arbitrator between them have considerable discretion over the procedures they adopt in order to reach a fair result under English Law. The parties define the scope of their arbitration. In many cases they will want all their differences arbitrated. Alternatively, the arbitration may be limited to agreed issues, leaving room for further negotiation or application to the court. It is permissible for the arbitration to be completed on paper, if the parties agree or the arbitrator so directs, further reducing costs. The parties in consultation with the arbitrator have complete flexibility as to the time and place of hearings.
• Choice of arbitrator
Parties to an in-court dispute do not have the right to choose their judge, but they do have the right under the Schemes to choose their arbitrator. Knowing that a dispute will be resolved by a selected specialist with appropriate experience will be very attractive to many parties and their advisers. Once appointed, the arbitrator deals with all stages of the case from start to finish.
What law applies to an arbitration under the Schemes?
The law of England and Wales applies to all arbitrations under both Schemes. The arbitrator and the parties cannot agree to apply a different law to the arbitration. Any agreement which seeks to apply a different system of law will not be registered under the two Schemes.
How does arbitration fit in with mediation?
An arbitration resembles court proceedings. An arbitrator will produce a decision, the Determination, after hearing the evidence and each party’s arguments in support of their case. By contrast, a mediator helps a couple reach their own settlement through agreement. However mediation processes can take place either before or after an arbitration, to the benefit of the parties. Sometimes an arbitrator may consider during the course of the arbitration that mediation would benefit the couple and will then suggest this. A number of arbitrators are also trained mediators and therefore fully understand the benefits of settling through mediation. Conversely, mediators may recommend arbitration as an out-of-court form of resolution if it seems clear that the parties are not going to reach an agreement in mediation. It is also possible for a mediator to refer a specific part of a dispute to arbitration, in order to resolve a sticking point during the course of a mediation, which may open the door to subsequent agreement, thus facilitating a mediated outcome.
How do I start arbitration under the Scheme?
The first step is for the parties to complete and submit an application: ARB1CS for the Children Scheme. The Form records the parties’ agreement to arbitrate and their acceptance of the Rules of the Scheme and must be signed by both parties or their legal representatives on their behalf. In the Form the parties summarise the issues to be arbitrated. The parties can either nominate an IFLA arbitrator or invite IFLA to nominate the arbitrator. They can agree a short-list but invite IFLA to select at random from the list. Many arbitrators will at this stage suggest a pre-commitment meeting which enables discussion of the nature of the arbitration process to take place and an opportunity for prospective participants to meet the arbitrator before deciding whether to proceed with that arbitrator. The Forms stipulate that the parties agree that the arbitrator’s decision will be final and binding and that, if necessary, they will apply for a court order to give effect to it.
What happens next?
After the appropriate Form is submitted to IFLA:
• The appointment is offered to the arbitrator
• The arbitrator seeks the parties’ agreement to his or her terms
• The arbitrator accepts the appointment and the arbitration formally begins
• The arbitrator contacts the parties with a view to progressing the arbitration, by agreement or (after listening to each party’s point of view) as directed by the arbitrator
• Often (though not necessarily) there will then be a preliminary meeting to deal with the further conduct of the arbitration.
What is the procedure in family arbitration?
Although most cases will follow a similar format there is no fixed or rigid procedure. The arbitrator will invite the parties to put forward their proposals at the outset and the arbitrator will then make directions for the procedural steps in the arbitration. Articles 9 to 12 of the Rules provide more details about the likely procedures and the powers of the arbitrator to give directions.
Is arbitration possible even if we are currently involved in court proceedings?
All family court judges are aware of the benefits of arbitration. Recent changes to Rules of Court grant power to adjourn court proceedings for the parties to resolve the dispute through arbitration (as well as mediation and other forms of non-court dispute resolution) without affecting the parties’ right to resume the court proceedings if (for instance) mediation fails to resolve the dispute. But once an arbitration agreement in Form ARB1CS has been signed by both parties (or their legal representatives on their behalf) the court will normally at the request of either party impose a stay (that is to say, call a halt) to the court proceedings to await the outcome of the arbitration. Then the arbitration Determination can be incorporated into an order in those proceedings, unless the court has good grounds for requiring its modification or (in what are likely to be very rare circumstances) refusing altogether to do so.
How are IFLA arbitrators trained, and what qualifications do they have?
Training and qualifying as a family law arbitrator is available only to those who satisfy the conditions established by IFLA. All IFLA arbitrators are experienced family lawyers who have successfully completed a training course on family arbitration run by CIArb, selecting to qualify under the Financial or Children Scheme or both. On successful completion of the relevant course it is also a condition that they become and remain members of CIArb, the self-regulatory professional body for arbitrators. CIArb lays down ethical codes for its members and deals with complaints of misconduct through its Professional Conduct Committee.
Do I need a lawyer to represent me?
It is strongly recommended that every prospective participant should take legal advice before entering into an arbitration agreement (ARB1CS) in order to understand the implications and effect of the arbitration process and of the Award or Determination. When signing the Form ARB1CS parties are asked to confirm that they have been advised as to the nature and effect of the arbitration agreement. Arbitration retains similarities with court proceedings so representation by a lawyer may be the most effective way to present your case and the legal arguments in its support.
What are the powers of the arbitrator?
Once an arbitrator has been appointed, he or she has wide-ranging powers to make decisions on any case management or substantive issues on which the parties cannot agree. In the absence of agreement, an arbitrator can, for example:
• Rule over what matters are included in the scope of the arbitration
• Determine all case management issues concerning such practical matters as the scope of the written and oral evidence, the extent of disclosure, the need for written submissions and whether an oral hearing is needed. Under the Scheme, both parties are entitled to present their case and deal with the other party’s case; this may, or may not, involve a hearing with oral evidence
• Make interim orders including interim maintenance
• Give directions for e.g. the inspection or preservation of property in dispute
• Appoint an expert or assessor as an alternative to directing the parties to engage expert evidence. Unlike a judge, the arbitrator has no power to interview or meet the child or children concerned in a children case. However the arbitrator may agree, or on his or her own initiative direct, the appointment of a suitably qualified independent social worker to see the child or children and to report on their wishes and feelings in the light of their age and maturity, their welfare needs, and what solutions may be in their best interests.
What are the costs of a family arbitration? Who is responsible for the costs?
In an arbitration there are two main types of costs:
• The arbitrator’s fees and expenses. The arbitrator and the parties will agree the level of the arbitrator’s fees (either on an hourly or daily basis, or for an overall fixed fee) by negotiation at the outset of the arbitration. The usual arrangement will be for the parties to bear the arbitrator’s fees and expenses (as well as any fees and expenses payable to IFLA: currently there are none) in equal shares. However, the arbitrator has a discretion under the Rules to order a party to pay more than an equal share (even up to the full amount) if that is appropriate because of the conduct of that party in relation to the arbitration.
• The legal or other costs of the parties. These are the costs incurred by a party in engaging lawyers to prepare for and represent them in an arbitration, as well as such costs as the hire of a venue for a hearing. The usual arrangement will be for each party to bear their own legal costs, and not to make any payment towards the other party’s legal costs. The costs of a venue (and similar costs) will usually be borne equally. However, the arbitrator has a discretion under the Rules to order a party to pay part or all of the legal or other costs of another party if that is appropriate because of the conduct of that party in relation to the arbitration.
Outcomes and their enforcement
At the conclusion of the process or whenever matters in issue are finally determined, arbitrators will issue a Determination. The decisions it contains are the arbitral equivalent of a final judgment and (in accordance with the terms agreed at the outset in the Form ARB1CS) are binding as between the parties. However, English family law does not permit parties a free hand to make their own arrangements for financial and/or property issues or in connection with children on divorce or separation. It follows that an agreement which attempts conclusively to exclude any power of court review is not legally possible, a factor which is specifically acknowledged both in the application Form and in the Rules of the Scheme. That said however, a Determination under the Scheme will be the outcome of an impartial adjudication following a recognised process – supported by the Arbitration Act 1966 – whose object is to achieve a fair result. There is a high degree of probability that Courts will endorse Determinations made under the IFLA Schemes. The President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby, has provided Guidance on how the Scheme should be considered by the courts (see below). Additionally, if the subject matter or particular provisions of the Determination make it necessary, the parties are bound to apply to the court for an order in the same or similar terms as the Award or Determination (see para 8.5 of ARB1CS). Such an application will in some circumstances be essential to render effective some terms of the Determination.
PRACTICE GUIDANCE:
CHILDREN ARBITRATION IN THE FAMILY COURT 26 July 2018
1 This Guidance concerns the interface between the Family Court and Arbitrations conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996 (AA96) where the parties to a post-relationship breakdown private law dispute relating to the welfare of a child or children in respect of whom either or both of them have parental responsibility or are otherwise concerned have agreed to submit the issues in dispute for decision by an arbitrator whose decision is to be binding upon them. It is anticipated that most arbitrations will be conducted under the IFLA Children scheme and Rules by arbitrators trained under the IFLA scheme, but this guidance applies to any decision reached by an arbitrator chosen by the parties in relation to a children issue. In this Guidance the neutral terminology of the IFLA Children Scheme Rules is adopted by which the decision of the arbitrator is described as a determination rather than an award.
2 It is a fundamental requirement of this Guidance that the arbitrator will decide the substance of the dispute only in accordance with the law of England and Wales including the key welfare principle set out in s1 of the Children Act 1989. This Guidance does not apply to, or sanction, any arbitral process based on a different system of law nor, in particular, one where there is reason to believe that, whatever system of law is purportedly being applied, there may have been gender-based discrimination.
3 The attention of arbitrators and the parties is also drawn to the outline guidance set out in Practice Direction 12B – Child Arrangements Programme, particularly paragraphs 1, 2.4-2.6 and 4.
4 To avoid unnecessary complication this Guidance is primarily directed towards what may well be the most common form of children issues with which the Family Court and the parties may become concerned, namely disputes as to child arrangements including where the child lives, contact, division and allocation of holidays, education, religious upbringing, medical treatment for non-life threatening or life changing conditions and other issues as to the exercise or limitation of parental responsibility of either of the parties.
Safeguarding
5 The welfare principle requires that safeguarding is a fundamental element of any child planning dispute resolution whether conducted via the Court or by alternative dispute resolution. There are two aspects to safeguarding in a child issue dispute: first, providing for the physical and emotional safety of the child concerned and the parties in the immediate time frame of the dispute; second, taking appropriate care not to make an order or provision that will put the child concerned or the parties at avoidable future risk.
6 In applications under the IFLA Children Scheme, the parties will have completed a safeguarding questionnaire and obtained Basic Disclosure from Disclosure Scotland. The attention of the parties and arbitrator in any proposed arbitration is also drawn to paragraph 5.1 and 5.2 of Practice Direction 12B, which advises that a process of non-court dispute resolution is unlikely to be appropriate in situations involving domestic violence, drug and/or alcohol misuse and mental illness.
Children Arbitration and the No Order principle
7 Under the No Order principle, not every agreement concerning a child requires to be confirmed by incorporation in a subsequent Court order. The statutory principle extends to an agreement to arbitrate and the outcome of such arbitration. The parties may simply agree to manage their arrangements and the exercise of parental responsibility in accordance with the determination and thus have no need or obligation for a court order to reflect it.
8 However, the parties may seek a consent order for various reasons. For example, having regard to the context or the history of the dispute, to avoid the risk of relitigating the same issue in the future, in order to obtain a confirmatory order for production to non-parties such as medical or educational authorities, or to obtain an injunctive or other form of order via family Court processes reflecting the determination and which will only be available if orders reflecting the determination are obtained.
A: Where there is a subsisting application seeking the same relief as is in issue in the arbitration
Stay of proceedings
9 The court should be invited to stay the application pending delivery of the determination. The arbitration agreement (in the case of an IFLA Children Scheme arbitration, the Form ARB1CS) will in most instances only recently have been signed by both parties, and thus contested applications for a stay will likely be rare. CPR rule 62.3(2) provides that such an application ”must be made by application notice to the court dealing with those proceedings”. The Family Court has an obligation under FPR 3.4(1)(b) “where the parties agree, to enable non-court dispute resolution to take place.”
10 Section 9(4) of AA96 requires that the court “shall grant a stay unless satisfied that the arbitration agreement is null and void, inoperative, or incapable of being performed” and makes it clear that a stay application should be made to the court where the subsisting proceedings are pending. In the case of a children arbitration under the IFLA Children Scheme, by paragraph 8.2 of Form ARB1CS the parties will have agreed that they “will apply for or consent to a stay of any existing court proceedings, as necessary.”
11 In such circumstances where the application to stay is by consent or unopposed it should be dealt with on paper and (absent any unusual circumstances indicating a need) without listing or hearing.
12 Parties seeking such a stay should (in person or through their solicitors, who need not for this purpose be on the court record in the Children Act proceedings) lodge in the place where the proceedings have been commenced, and within those proceedings, clear evidence of their agreement (or lack of opposition) to the stay order, together with a copy of their signed arbitration agreement (such as the IFLA Form ARB1CS). One of the standard orders approved for use in conjunction with arbitrations provides for a stay, and a copy completed with the details of the case, and signed by both parties or their representatives to signify approval, should be lodged with the other documents. The file will then be placed before a judge for approval, or for queries to be raised and dealt with by correspondence, and/or (if necessary) a hearing listed. The suite of arbitration-specific standard orders are Annexed to this Guidance: see below.
Applying for an order to reflect the determination: by consent
13 The terms of the proposed consent order will be drafted to reflect the decisions and directions contained in the determination. Insofar as orders under the Children Act 1989 are involved, their form should follow the relevant paragraphs of the Standard Family Orders, which contain recitals apt for an arbitration award/determination case. Together with a signed copy of the proposed order in the terms agreed, the parties, in order to take advantage of this accelerated procedure, should at the same time lodge their Forms C100, a copy of the arbitrator’s determination and (unless already on the court file) their Form ARB1CS.
14 Attention is drawn to my observations in S v S (Financial Remedies: Arbitral Award) [2014] EWHC 7 (Fam), [2014] 1 FLR 1257, as to the attitude likely to be adopted by the court in such cases: ”where the parties are putting the matter before the court by consent, … it can only be in the rarest of cases that it will be appropriate for the judge to do other than approve the order.”
15 The underlying principles I there ventured to state are of like application to a properly constituted and conducted arbitration in a children issue, subject only to paying proper regard to the question of safeguarding. Paragraph 7 of Practice Direction 12J – Child Arrangements and Contact Order: Domestic Violence and Harm provides that: “….. The Court shall not make a child arrangements order by consent or give permission for an application for a child arrangements order to be withdrawn, unless the parties are present in court, all initial safeguarding checks have been obtained by the court, and an Officer of Cafcass or Cafcass Cymru has spoken to the parties separately, except where it is satisfied that there is no risk of harm to the child in so doing.”
16 In any application for a consent order, whether the proviso is satisfied so dispensing with the requirement for input from Cafcass or the physical presence of the parties, will be a matter for the judge. But in the case of a proposed consent order following an arbitration, the Court will have the assistance of the material placed before the arbitrator and usually the arbitrator’s written reasons. Applicants should ensure that all safeguarding material in the arbitration including any report from DBS Scotland is annexed to the application. In what is likely to be the common case of an arbitration under the IFLA Scheme, the Court will take into account the careful structure of safeguarding provisions built into the Rules of the IFLA Scheme including the declarations made by the parties in their ARB1CS form and the contents of the disclosure they were required to obtain from DBS Scotland. An application for a consent order to embody or enforce an IFLA determination in which the information provided does not disclose any grounds for concern may well provide the court with grounds to be satisfied that there is no risk of harm to the child or the parents involved.
17 Draft orders submitted which invite the court to make orders it has no jurisdiction to make (or which are otherwise in unacceptable form) will, like any other defective consent order submitted, be returned for reconsideration. There is of course no objection to recitals which express the parties’ agreement to provisions which fall outside the scope of the available statutory powers of the Court under, for example, section 8 of the Children Act. Where the parties provide for the giving of an undertaking, the application must include a signed statement by the party giving the undertaking that he or she has been advised about and understands the effect of an undertaking to the Court and the potential consequences of any breach. Nor indeed is there anything to prevent parties agreeing to change the terms of a determination if they are agreed upon a revised formulation. In that event, though, it would be sensible for the covering correspondence to make it clear which provisions of the determination have been overtaken by what subsequent arrangement arrived at by the parties.
18 Parties anxious to preserve the privacy and to maintain the confidentiality of the determination should lodge that document in a sealed envelope, clearly marked with the name and number of the case and the words “Arbitration Determination: Confidential”. The determination will remain on the court file but should be placed in an envelope clearly marked as above, plus “not to be opened without the permission of a judge of the Family Court.” The covering letter should prominently request that the determination be sealed as an Order of the court once it has been approved. Applying for an order to reflect the determination: opposed
19 The party seeking to have the determination reflected in a court order will need to proceed adopting what at para [25] of S v S was described as the “notice to show cause” procedure. An alternative formulation of the Arbitration recital for such a situation is contained in each standard order.
20 Similar documentation should be submitted with the application, except of course that the order proposed is likely to have been unilaterally drafted on behalf of the party seeking to obtain the order. An application of this sort will ordinarily be listed for a hearing before a judge of Circuit Judge or High Court Judge level.
21 Attention is drawn to my observations in S v S concerning the attitude likely to be adopted by the court in opposed cases: “The court will no doubt adopt an appropriately robust approach, both to the procedure it adopts in dealing with such a challenge and to the test it applies in deciding the outcome. … The parties will almost invariably forfeit the right to anything other than a most abbreviated hearing; only in highly exceptional circumstances is the court likely to permit anything more than a very abbreviated hearing”
22 Applications for consent orders are specifically placed outside the scope of the MIAMs requirement by Practice Direction 3A, paragraph 12(2). Parties who have agreed to arbitrate but have subsequently become engaged in any post-arbitral determination dispute, as for instance a contested ”show cause” application, should not be required to deviate into a MIAM notwithstanding the absence of a specific reference in paragraph 12(2) of Practice Direction 3A.
B: Arbitration claims
23 An “arbitration claim” is a term of art, and its scope for the purposes of its application to arbitrations conducted under AA96 is defined by CPR rule 62.2(1) in these terms: “[In relation to AA96] ‘arbitration claim’ means – (a) any application to the court under the 1996 Act; (b) a claim to determine – (i) whether there is a valid arbitration agreement; (ii) whether an arbitration tribunal is properly constituted; or what matters have been submitted to arbitration in accordance with an arbitration agreement; (c) a claim to declare that an award by an arbitral tribunal is not binding on a party; and (d) any other application affecting – (i) arbitration proceedings (whether started or not); or (ii) an arbitration agreement.”
24 The court where “arbitration claims” as so defined are to be commenced is governed by CPR PD62 para 2 and the High Court and County Courts (Allocation of Arbitration Proceedings) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/3215) as amended (the 1996 Order), which do not currently cater for such claims to be launched in the Family Court. Pending changes made to CPR PD62 and/or the 1996 Order, an applicant for an “arbitration claim” should issue the requisite Form (see below) in the Commercial Court and should at the time of issue seek transfer to the Family Division. Para [6] of the 1996 Order does not as yet permit the transfer of any such application to the Family Court – the transfer must therefore be to the Family Division of the High Court.
25 The Form N8 initiating such a claim should be prominently marked “Family business: direction sought for transfer to the Family Division of the High Court” and should detail (where there are subsisting Family Court proceedings, albeit stayed) the case title and number.
26 Attention is drawn to sections 42 (enforcement of peremptory orders of the arbitrator) and 43 (securing the attendance of witnesses) of AA96, which are the provisions in relation to which an ”arbitration claim” is most likely to be sought in the course of an ongoing post-separation children arbitration. Attention is also drawn to the provisions of section 44 (court powers exercisable in support of arbitral proceedings). Standard Orders have been issued to meet each of these contingencies: see below.
27 As these are all within the CPR definition of “arbitration claims,” pending changes to para [2] of CPR PD62 such applications should (as described above) be issued in the Commercial Court and bear prominently upon them a request for speedy transfer to the Family Division.
28 In relation to applications under sections 42 and 43 the standard orders are self-explanatory. Such applications should be heard by a judge of High Court level. C: Arbitrations conducted when there are no subsisting proceedings seeking relevant relief Stay of proceedings
29 An application to stay legal proceedings under section 9 of AA96 is in effect excluded from the definition of and procedural requirements for “arbitration claims” by CPR rule 62.3(2), which provides that such an application ”must be made by application notice to the court dealing with those proceedings”.
30 In the case of an IFLA Scheme arbitration the parties will have agreed (by paragraph 8.2 of their Form ARB1CS) that they “will not commence court proceedings … in relation to the same subject matter”. If however such proceedings are thereafter initiated then it is open to either party to apply for a stay pursuant to section 9 of AA96 in the court where the proceedings have been commenced, and within those proceedings. If a stay remains opposed an early hearing will obviously be required to determine the application.
D: Enforcement
31 Section 3 of CPR Part 62 (rules 62.17 and 62.18) make provision for the direct enforcement of a determination. In some situations it may be possible to pray section 66 of AA96 in aid to enforce an award. Para 4 of the 1996 Order authorises the commencement in any county court of section 66 proceedings under which determinations can, with the court’s permission, be enforced in the same way as a judgment or order of the court to the same effect. I indicated at paragraph 30 of my 2015 Practice Guidance for arbitration in financial disputes that these provisions are not appropriate in respect of financial remedies. They are similarly inapt for the enforcement of any provisions made in a determination in a children dispute. An application by a party seeking enforcement will accordingly be made in the appropriate form in the Family Court seeking a summary hearing as outlined in S v S to be dealt with expeditiously unless the court otherwise directs.
E: Challenging the Determination under sections 67 to 71 of the Arbitration Act
32 Some very specific bases for challenging arbitrations are contained in these sections of AA96. They are hedged about with preconditions and limitations, and the commercial experience in arbitration is that they are relatively rarely successful. In relation to an arbitration dealing with family financial and/or children issues, however, it would ordinarily be appropriate for a High Court Judge of the Family Division to hear them, and thus it is to be expected that applications commenced pursuant to these provisions will by the same route be transferred to that court.
F: Arbitration-specific standard court orders
33 An additional three orders for use in conjunction with children arbitrations have been added to the Standard Family Orders. They are contained in the zip file attached to this Guidance and comprise: • Order 22.1: Stay pursuant to Arbitration Act 1996 section 9 and/or under the court’s case management powers • Order 22.2: To enforce an arbitrator’s peremptory order under Arbitration Act 1996 section 42 • Order 22.3: To secure the attendance of witnesses under Arbitration Act 1996 section 43
James Munby, President of the Family Division 26 July 2018