Impact of changes to family procedure rules on mediation

The Family Procedure Rules were updated last year to take further consideration of non-court dispute resolution (NCDR) methods.

With mediation week set to place at the end of January we reflect on these changes and their impact.

Mediation is an alternative non court dispute resolution method where an independent third party mediator helps families to resolve disputes. The process starts with a meeting known as a mediation information assessment meeting (“MIAM”).

Family Procedure Rules set out the practice and procedure to be followed in family law proceedings, some of the main amendments include:

1. Widening the definition of non-court dispute resolution, which previously only included mediation. The definition now includes arbitration, evaluation by a neutral third party and collaborative law.
2. A requirement for MIAM providers to indicate which forms of non-court dispute resolution may be most suitable as a means of resolving the dispute and provide guidance on these methods. MIAM exceptions were also tightened as part of the rule changes which limits when an exception applies.
3. A further change has seen the introduction of parties being required to file a form within certain family court proceedings to confirm their views on NCDR to resolve proceedings. The court also has the power to order a party to reconsider NCDR including mediation to resolve their dispute and to stay proceedings for this to take place provided the timetabling of proceedings allows for this.
4. In financial remedy cases, if there has been a failure to engage in mediation or other forms of NCDR without a valid reason the court can now depart from the general starting point of no order as to costs.

The changes were a positive step to encourage parties to seek early resolution of disputes. It is hoped that such changes will help to reduce the amount of court applications which can lead to protracted family court proceedings that can be costly and time consuming and more parties will consider routes such as mediation.

As a result of the changes, family lawyers must ensure that they discuss mediation and other forms of NCDR with their clients at the earliest possible stage to consider whether this is an appropriate method to resolve their dispute. Parties must ensure they comply with these changes to avoid any risk of cost consequences or delay if court proceedings become necessary.

At Rollits, we have already seen use of the court forms relating to NCDR in action which provide parties with the opportunity to reflect on how they have dealt with the dispute and whether they have considered alternatives to court.