IFLA Financial Arbitrator Training 2024

The Family Law Financial Arbitration Scheme (‘the Financial Scheme’) is a scheme under which disputes of a financial or property nature with a family background in England and Wales may be resolved by arbitration.

In order to become an arbitrator under this Scheme, it is necessary that Scheme members qualify and maintain membership of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Benefits of family law arbitration

Some of the primary advantages of family arbitration are:
• The selection of the decision maker
• The direct continuous involvement of the decision maker
• Flexibility and individual choice of adjudication process
• Privacy and confidentiality
• Use for discrete issues of a case
• Speed and flexibility
• Saving of court resources

Applications
Applications to train and qualify as a family law arbitrator in either scheme must be made on the prescribed application form and sent to Andrea Khan at akhan@Ciarb.org

Eligibility
Training and qualification as a family law arbitrator is available only to those who satisfy the conditions established by IFLA. Eligibility is considered without discrimination.

An applicant for the financial scheme must be either:
i. a practising barrister,
ii. a practising solicitor,
iii. a part time fee paid judge or
iv. a practising Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives

who has at least 10 years post qualification experience in England and Wales in the discipline in which he or she wishes to qualify. He or she must have spent a minimum of 600 hours per annum carrying out family law casework during each of the 10 years immediately preceding his or her application 400 hours of which must be in the discipline in which he or she wishes to qualify. If an applicant has completed 800 hours per annum family work comprising 400 hours financial work and 400 hours children work, then he or she will be eligible to train as both a financial arbitrator and a children arbitrator.

Click here to view the full eligibility requirements.