We have recently seen a significant sea-change in family law with the changes in the Family Procedure Rules concerning Non Court Dispute Resolution (‘NCDR’) coming into Law.
NCDR will be at the very heart of each and every family law case. From Monday 29th April, there will be a much greater expectation on separating couples to engage in NCDR processes including mediation, arbitration, collaborative law, early neutral evaluation and private FDR’s, rather than resort to court proceedings. Also, this is an ongoing obligation, which means that even once court proceedings have been started, parties need to continue to think about ways of resolving them, where possible.
Parties will now have to file a form at least 7 days before a hearing, setting out their views on engaging in non court processes. Failure to engage without any good reason, may result in costs orders being made. Courts will also have the power to adjourn proceedings if they feel that NCDR would be appropriate, and to allow the parties time to engage in other suitable processes.
This is also expected to be the start of much firmer steps from the courts and Government to encourage much greater uses of non court dispute resolution in family cases, so we can expect further changes in Law and procedures and more developments in due course.
As a mediator, I see this as a positive step, in helping and encouraging families to reach more amicable solutions to their cases and keep out of court. Here in the BH&O team we fully support the use of NCDR. We have trained mediators, collaborative lawyers in our team, and are able to recommend arbitrators to help families achieve a better futures. If you would like to know more about any of these processes, please get in touch.
Ruth Hawkins, Partner