The training will be led by three arbitrators from England and Wales, HH Judge Donald Cryan, James Roberts QC and Suzanne Kingston. They will talk about, amongst other things, moving cases that are already within the litigated process into arbitration and the practicalities of conducting arbitration over Zoom or Skype for business.

The session follows the publication of guidance for arbitrators conducting FLAGS arbitrations remotely, which was published by FLAGS a fortnight ago. The guidance was prepared in response to the recent, perhaps unsurprising, significant increase in interest in the use of arbitration as a dispute resolution model in family cases.

The Family Modernisation Strategy published by the Scottish government in September 2019 recognised that forms of dispute resolution including arbitration can play a valuable role in helping to resolve family disputes.

FLAGS is working to embed family law arbitration in the Scottish civil justice system and to provide a service which can contribute to the ongoing delivery of civil justice through this indefinite period of disruption.

Remote arbitration can provide a determination in a short timescale on any number of issues and will allow parties to see progress at a time when the court system is struggling under the all too obvious COVID-19 challenges.

FLAGS now have nearly 50 trained arbitrators throughout Scotland, with new recruits Ruth Innes QC, Amanda Wilson from Thorntons in Dundee, Jane Ferguson from R&R Urquhart in Forres, Ruth Croman from MacNabs in Perth and Ashley Simpson from Patience and Buchan in Aberdeen.