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Difference between revisions of "Family Law Arbitration"
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<blockquote>'''Section 31:''' Awards in family law disputes can be appealed.</blockquote> | <blockquote>'''Section 31:''' Awards in family law disputes can be appealed.</blockquote> | ||
===Faith-based arbitration=== | ===Other ways arbitration can be used in family law disputes=== | ||
Arbitration is very flexible and very useful. Parenting coordinators use a process a lot like arbitration to make a decision resolving a disagreement when the parents aren't able to agree on the resolution of the dispute. The flexibility of arbitration means that people can ask their arbitrator to make a decision based on the rules of a religion. | |||
====Faith-based arbitration==== | |||
Under the ''Arbitration Act'', the parties can choose their own rules to govern the arbitration process. Nothing in the act says that those rules cannot be religious rules. Judaism and Islam each have religious laws that can apply to family law disputes for members of those faiths. Members of the orthodox Jewish community may use the Beth Din to settle personal disputes. Muslims can use Sharia law for the same purpose. | Under the ''Arbitration Act'', the parties can choose their own rules to govern the arbitration process. Nothing in the act says that those rules cannot be religious rules. Judaism and Islam each have religious laws that can apply to family law disputes for members of those faiths. Members of the orthodox Jewish community may use the Beth Din to settle personal disputes. Muslims can use Sharia law for the same purpose. | ||
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Note that if the parties to faith-based arbitration wish to obtain a divorce, they must still start a court proceeding in the Supreme Court of British Columbia for a divorce order. A religious divorce, such as the Jewish Get, is not a legal divorce. | Note that if the parties to faith-based arbitration wish to obtain a divorce, they must still start a court proceeding in the Supreme Court of British Columbia for a divorce order. A religious divorce, such as the Jewish Get, is not a legal divorce. | ||
===Parenting coordination=== | ====Parenting coordination==== | ||
The ''Arbitration Act'' also applies to parenting coordination. In this dispute resolution process, the arbitrator, called a ''parenting coordinator'', tries to first settle a parenting dispute through a settlement process like mediation. If the parents cannot find consensus, the parenting coordinator acts like an arbitrator and makes a written decision, called a ''determination'', resolving the dispute. The parenting coordinator's authority to resolve these dispute comes from the arbitration agreement the parents sign, in this case called a ''parenting coordination agreement''. | The ''Arbitration Act'' also applies to parenting coordination. In this dispute resolution process, the arbitrator, called a ''parenting coordinator'', tries to first settle a parenting dispute through a settlement process like mediation. If the parents cannot find consensus, the parenting coordinator acts like an arbitrator and makes a written decision, called a ''determination'', resolving the dispute. The parenting coordinator's authority to resolve these dispute comes from the arbitration agreement the parents sign, in this case called a ''parenting coordination agreement''. | ||
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*the issues are complex and require a decision-maker who is a specialist in the area, or | *the issues are complex and require a decision-maker who is a specialist in the area, or | ||
*they want their dispute resolved more quickly than the court schedule will allow. | *they want their dispute resolved more quickly than the court schedule will allow. | ||
It's important to understand that while arbitrators can make awards on all of the usual family law issues, including parenting arrangements, contact, child support, spousal support and the division of property and debt, arbitrators cannot make awards on issues that require the order of a judge. These issues include: | |||
*divorce orders, | |||
*orders appointing someone as the guardian of a child who is not a parent, | |||
*declarations about who is, and who is not, the parent of a child, | |||
*orders changing the order of a judge, and | |||
*orders changing an order made in another province, territory or country. | |||
==How to find a family law arbitrator== | ==How to find a family law arbitrator== | ||
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{{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[ | {{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[John-Paul Boyd]], May 10, 2019}} | ||
{{JP Boyd on Family Law Navbox|type=chapters}} | {{JP Boyd on Family Law Navbox|type=chapters}} | ||