Financial Dispute Resolution
Financial Dispute Resolution(FDR) is an important type of court hearing, although being more informal than normal court hearings. FDR’s basis is Early Neutral Evaluation: that is to say, a neutral arbitrator/mediator, expresses a view about the likely outcome of the dispute in order to assist the parties towards settlement, but does not have the power to make an order if they cannot agree.
FDR was initially only used in disputes about the financial consequences of divorce but is now used in other areas of family financial dispute such as maintenance for children or wealth distribution. However, FDR is now having a high success rate. Many cases settle at the hearing or shortly afterwards on the basis of the indication the court has given. However, they also have many limitations:-
- Because court lists are congested, there is usually a considerable delay before the FDR takes place.
- As with other court hearings, the parties have no power to choose who the Judge will be. Experience shows that, through no fault of their own, the Judges assigned to deal with FDRs have not always had the chance to read the papers and prepare fully for the hearing.
- The FDR can only take place at a specified time in the progress of a case.
- Family disputes are often about more than one area: for instance, children and money. An FDR will normally only be able to deal with one area.
TIPC promotes Private FDRs which have the following benefits:-
- They can happen before court proceedings are started or at any stage during the court process.
- There is very little delay.
- The parties have the power to choose an evaluator in whom they and their lawyers have confidence.
- The evaluator will have had the opportunity to read the papers and prepare for the occasion.
- The FDR can deal with all or any aspect of the dispute which the parties wish.
- The FDR can take place either at Themis International Private court or wherever else the parties wish.