Last week in Australia a private family law arbitration scheme was launched. Known as the Alternative Courtroom, it provides a service for those involved in family disputes to help produce an adjudicated outcome and resolution. It has a panel of experienced and specialist Australian family arbitrators. It makes the arrangements for the start of the process including assisting the arbitrator and dealing with issues of disclosure.

Today, 29 July 2015, Greece becomes the 16th EU country to incorporate European legislation known as the Rome III Regulation into its own domestic law.

The purpose is to decide and determine which law should be used in cross- border divorces.

A number of changes to the administration of family justice in London come into force this month, July 2015 and the key words for London family court users are “centralisation” and “complexity.”

The International Family Law Group LLP is a specialist practice looking after the needs of international families.

­Where families have close connections to other countries it is important to take great care. Here are our top ten facts for international families:

Familylaw.co.uk: A very important decision has been handed down in a landmark full Family Court decision in Australia in respect of financial outcomes on divorce, especially affecting wealthy families. The decision in the case of Kane has ended a long line of decisions giving significant weight to the so-called ‘special contribution' of the spouse who financially created the wealth of the family.

Familylaw.co.uk: David Hodson in his international family law opinion piece describes the possible effect of a haunting of the matrimonial home on the divorce financial outcome, as set out in a judgment from a federal magistrate's decision in Sydney, Australia

FamilyLaw.co.uk: David Hodson in his opinion piece on international family law, and perhaps prompted by too many rum punches in the Caribbean, looks at the many countries, territories, islands, and other geographical entities which are either part of the EU or linked with the EU in some way and needing family law consideration.

FamilyLaw.co.uk: Technology has transformed the way in which lawyers across the world conduct their work. This is especially the case for lawyers dealing with international cases. But what is our duty out of hours?  How much can we safely leave the office in the evening, turn off the BlackBerry, power down the laptop and chillax?

FamilyLaw.co.uk: Family arbitration has been successfully launched in several countries recently and is having a kick-start in those countries where it is presently available but underused.

There has been a recent endorsement and encouragement at the 6th World Congress on Family Law and Children's Rights in Sydney, Australia, in March 2013. The Congress passed the following motion amongst other motions:

This Congress:

FamilyLaw.co.uk: Two developments late last year in Australia have interesting reflections for other countries, and give timely warnings and alerts of potential government actions. How should judges be described and does it have any impact on the respect for the judicial system or indeed respect by the judges for that system? To what extent should court fees be self-funding?