London: still the divorce capital of the world London has been seen as the divorce capital of the world for some time now. This has much to do with the fact that there is no mathematical formula or pre-existing marital property regime to determine who gets what when a marriage breaks down. Judicial discretion plays a significant role and under the family legal system in England and Wales, various factors, which are ignored or discounted in other jurisdictions, are taken into account. The result is that a financially weaker spouse can, in many cases, achieve a more generous award in the English court than in their country of origin. It is significant that the arbitral process is entirely confidential by its nature and this is reflected in the rules. Further, the arbitration scope can be determined by the parties and so it will be possible for an arbitrator to deal with one discreet issue rather than being appointed to deal with the entire case. This shows the flexibility of the scheme and provides significant benefits to the parties. The scheme has the support of many senior judges and other practitioners of English family law. Although currently family law does not permit parties to make their own arrangements for financial/property issues on divorce or separation simply by agreement, without the possibility of court review, it is expected that the courts will endorse the awards made under this scheme. The arbitration scheme is in line with the government's current thinking in respect of alternative dispute resolution. It is hoped that now as well as considering mediation and collaborative law, arbitration will be on the radar and will be seriously considered as an alternative to court. The arbitration is conducted only in accordance with English family law, thus facilitating enforcement by the court if necessary. London (and of course the rest of England and Wales) now has even more to offer the financially weaker party in a divorcing couple, by virtue of the fact that the full range of Dispute Resolution process options within the family law arena is now available. Of course, this will be of benefit to both spouses, but it stands to reason that, once jurisdiction is seised in divorce proceedings, whichever dispute resolution option is chosen to resolve the financial issues, it will be underpinned by the principles and statutory guidance set by the English divorce courts and this may well benefit the financially weaker spouse. It will be interesting to see how family arbitration, the "new kid on the block," fares. Suzanne Kingston is a partner at international law firm Withers