F1Part 3Non-court Dispute Resolution

Annotations:
Amendments (Textual)

Chapter 3:Family Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMs)

Circumstances in which the MIAM requirement does not apply (MIAM exemptions and mediator’s exemptions)3.8

The MIAM requirement does not apply if—

1

a prospective applicant claims in the relevant form that any of the following circumstances (a “MIAM exemption”) applies—

aDomestic violence

there is evidence of domestic violence, as specified in Practice Direction 3A; or

bChild protection concerns

i

— a child would be the subject of the application; and

ii

that child or another child of the family who is living with that child is currently—

aa

the subject of enquiries by a local authority under section 47 of the 1989 Act; or

ab

the subject of a child protection plan put in place by a local authority; or

cUrgency

the application must be made urgently because—

i

there is risk to the life, liberty or physical safety of the prospective applicant or his or her family or his or her home; or

ii

any delay caused by attending a MIAM would cause—

aa

a risk of harm to a child;

ab

a risk of unlawful removal of a child from the United Kingdom, or a risk of unlawful retention of a child who is currently outside England and Wales;

ac

a significant risk of a miscarriage of justice;

ad

unreasonable hardship to the prospective applicant; or

ae

irretrievable problems in dealing with the dispute (including the irretrievable loss of significant evidence); or

iii

there is a significant risk that in the period necessary to schedule and attend a MIAM, proceedings relating to the dispute will be brought in another state in which a valid claim to jurisdiction may exist, such that a court in that other State would be seised of the dispute before a court in England and Wales; or

Previous MIAM attendance or MIAM exemption

d

—

i

in the 4 months prior to making the application, the person attended a MIAM or participated in another form of non-court dispute resolution relating to the same or substantially the same dispute; or

ii

at the time of making the application, the person is participating in another form of non-court dispute resolution relating to the same or substantially the same dispute; or

e

—

i

in the 4 months prior to making the application, the person filed a relevant family application confirming that a MIAM exemption applied; and

ii

that application related to the same or substantially the same dispute; or

f

—

i

the application would be made in existing proceedings which are continuing; and

ii

the prospective applicant attended a MIAM before initiating those proceedings; or

g

—

i

the application would be made in existing proceedings which are continuing; and

ii

a MIAM exemption applied to the application for those proceedings; or

Other

h

—

i

there is evidence that the prospective applicant is bankrupt, as specified in Practice Direction 3A; and

ii

the proceedings would be for a financial remedy; or

i

the prospective applicant does not have sufficient contact details for any of the prospective respondents to enable a family mediator to contact any of the prospective respondents for the purpose of scheduling the MIAM; or

j

the application would be made without notice; or

(Paragraph 5.1 of Practice Direction 18A sets out the circumstances in which applications may be made without notice.)

k

—

i

the prospective applicant is or all of the prospective respondents are subject to a disability or other inability that would prevent attendance at a MIAM unless appropriate facilities can be offered by an authorised mediator;

i

the prospective applicant has contacted as many authorised family mediators as have an office within fifteen miles of his or home (or three of them if there are three or more), and all have stated that they are unable to provide such facilities; and

iii

the names, postal addresses and telephone numbers or e-mail addresses for such authorised family mediators, and the dates of contact, can be provided to the court if requested; or

l

the prospective applicant or all of the prospective respondents cannot attend a MIAM because he or she is, or they are, as the case may be—

i

in prison or any other institution in which he or she is or they are required to be detained;

ii

subject to conditions of bail that prevent contact with the other person; or

iii

subject to a licence with a prohibited contact requirement in relation to the other person; or

m

the prospective applicant or all of the prospective respondents are not habitually resident in England and Wales; or

n

a child is one of the prospective parties by virtue of Rule 12.3(1); or

o

—

i

the prospective applicant has contacted as many authorised family mediators as have an office within fifteen miles of his or her home (or three of them if there are three or more), and all of them have stated that they are not available to conduct a MIAM within fifteen business days of the date of contact; and

ii

the names, postal addresses and telephone numbers or e-mail addresses for such authorised family mediators, and the dates of contact, can be provided to the court if requested; or

p

there is no authorised family mediator with an office within fifteen miles of the prospective applicant’s home; or

2

an authorised family mediator confirms in the relevant form (a “mediator’s exemption”) that he or she is satisfied that—

a

mediation is not suitable as a means of resolving the dispute because none of the respondents is willing to attend a MIAM; or

b

mediation is not suitable as a means of resolving the dispute because all of the respondents failed without good reason to attend a MIAM appointment; or

c

mediation is otherwise not suitable as a means of resolving the dispute.