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Early Neutral Evaluations in private law children disputes: the way forward?
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Alex Verdan QC and Harry Nosworthy 4 Paper Buildings
Deborah Eaton QC and Katherine Kelsey 1 Kings Bench Walk
This article looks at the use of Early Neutral Evaluations (ENEs) in private law children disputes following what is understood to be the first ENE in a children case on 11 July 2014. Dispute resolution is well established in the
UK legal system. Indeed the new Practice Direction 3A of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 provides for the parties’ mandatory attendance with a mediator before issuing an application. There is a ‘general acknowledgment that an adversarial court process is not always best suited to the resolution of family disputes particularly private law disputes between parents relating to children with such disputes often best resolved through discussion and agreement where that can be managed safely and appropriately’.
ENE is a method of ADR and can be summarised as a technique whereby the parties agree to employ... Read the full article here.
