All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Notes: Family ADR
15 March 2016, 15:00-17:00, Committee Room 20, Palace of Westminster
Chair: John Howell OBE MP
Attendance
Parliamentarians
John Howell OBE MP
Alberto Costa MP
Non-Parliamentarians
Prof. Neil Robinson, Family Mediators Association, Visiting Professor at the Law and Business
School, Staffordshire University.
Sarah Lloyd, Family Mediation Council (FMC)
Jane Robey, National Family Mediation (NFM)
Robert Creighton, Family Mediation Standards Board (FMSB)
Tony Marks FCIArb, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)
Grant Howell, Institute of Family Law Arbitrators (IFLA)
Karin Walker, Resolution
Chris Wilford, Head of Policy, CIArb
In addition, there was an invited audience of ADR experts.
Introduction
1. The APPG on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) was launched in November 2015 to help
change the culture of dispute resolution in the country by providing a valuable forum within
Parliament to discuss the latest developments in ADR and to promote its wider use.
2. ADR mechanisms are a range of procedures that serve to resolve disputes generally involving the
intercessions and assistance of a neutral third party. ADR mechanisms include arbitration,
mediation, adjudication, expert determination and online dispute resolution (ODR). They provide a
cost-effective and faster alternative to costly and time-consuming court process.
3. When parties enter into an ADR process, there are a variety of factors that come into play when
deciding which mechanism to utilise for the resolution of the dispute. These include the nature of
the dispute, the relationship between the parties, the interests of the parties (and positions), the
amount in dispute, costs and speed: in short they choose the process most appropriate for their
needs and interests
4. This second session provided members of the group with an overview of forms of Family ADR,
their advantages and disadvantages, as well as how they relate to each other and the courts. It
followed a session on the 08 February 2016 which introduced the main forms of ADR.
5. Speakers provided an overview of family mediation, family arbitration, regulation, and
collaborative law. Parliamentarians then questioned them and an invited audience on a variety of
topics including the current regulatory framework and the latest developments in the sector.
Chris Udoh, CIArb Corporate Affairs Executive
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All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Key points
6. Prof. Neil Robinson stated that family mediation should be viewed with a different perspective. He
considers family mediation to not necessarily be an alternative to the court system rather it is an
appropriate form of dispute resolution. There are five core principles of family mediation:
1. Voluntary
2. Impartial
3. Confidential
4. Client control
5. Priority of children
7. There are three key attributes of family mediators:
1. Professional expertise
2. Interpersonal skills
3. Multi-disciplinary professionals
8. Between 1999 and 2013 there was a steady growth in the use of family mediation, since then
there has been a decline. The use of online models enables more engagement with younger
people.
9. Prof. Neil Robinson stated that more public funding should be provided by the government whilst
also taking a step away from the adversarial set up that exists within the current court system.
10. Sarah Lloyd of the Family Mediation Council (FMC) provided an overview of the current
landscape, which owes much to the the 1996 Family Law Act. The Family Mediation Standards
Board (FMSB) is an independent body that functions as a regulator for the FMC. Sarah Lloyd
echoed the call for more public funding to be provided and also greater regulation to ensure
quality of practice.
11. Robert Creighton on behalf of the FMSB gave an overview of regulation of Mediators. There are
currently between 1400-1500 people who claim to be family mediators, 1200 of whom are
registered with the FMC. Robert Creighton called for there to be statutory backing of regulation in
the sector to ensure only recognised mediators could perform family mediations.
12. Tony Marks, formerly Director of Legal Services at CIArb provided an overview of the work of the
Institute in the area of family ADR, including helping establish with the Family Law Bar
Association, and the family lawyers’ group Resolution, in association with the Centre for Child and
Family Law Reform, the Institute of Family Law Arbitrators (IFLA).
13. Grant Howell gave an overview of family arbitration. The development of family arbitration has
been a huge success and a development welcomed by the judiciary. He noted that in July 2016
family arbitration would extend to children matters, expanding the scope of family arbitration.
Chris Udoh, CIArb Corporate Affairs Executive
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All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
14. Karen Walker sits on the Resolution National Committee and is Chair of the Dispute Resolution
(DR) Committee. She provided an overview of collaborative law as a way of avoiding protracted,
adversarial disputes. Resolution list one of the benefits of family ADR as being a significantly
cheaper alternative to the courts without necessarily being considered a lesser alternative.
15. In the general discussion, speakers agreed that they view family ADR as becoming an even more
intrinsic element of the family justice system which will become inquisitorial rather than adversarial
as a whole over the next 10 years. There will be an increase in its use, easing the pressure on the
courts.
Summary
16. Regulation of the sector is in its infancy, it will take time it to be assessed affectively.
17. The role of mediation and the courts need to be distinguished. Mediation does not provide legal
remedy or advice. It was encouraged that parties do receive legal advice in order for them to get
an understanding of what is the best option for their dispute; the gateway is key and the sector as
a whole needs to work to improve this.
18. The family ADR bodies had six key asks of Government:
1. Divorce reform
2. Promotion of an inquisitorial system
3. Formal recognition of different bodies of Arbitration
4. Education of the general public to highlight the options available to them
5. Patience to allow regulations currently in place to develop
6. Reform in law for co-habiting couples
th
Reference in the session was also made to the 5 Annual Ryder Lecture: the University of Bolton on
'The Modernisation of Access to Justice in Times of Austerity' by The Rt. Hon. Sir Ernest Ryder,
Senior President of Tribunals 3 March 2016: https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2016/03/20160303-ryder-lecture2.pdf
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alternative Dispute Resolution
Chair and Registered Contact:
John Howell MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA. Tel: 020 7219 6676. Email:
howelljm@parliament.uk.
Public Enquiry Point:
Chris Wilford, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 12 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2LP. Tel: 020
7421 7485. Email: cwilford@ciarb.org
This is not an official publication of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been
approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of
Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in this
document are those of the group.
Chris Udoh, CIArb Corporate Affairs Executive
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