arbitral decision making in family property disputes.pdf

Bond University ePublications@bond L w F culty Public tions F culty of L w J nu ry 2003 A rbitral Decision Making in Family Property Disputes - Lotteries, Crystal Balls, and Wild Guesses J ohn Wade Bond University, John_W de@. u Follow this nd dditional works t : http://epublic . u/l w_pubs Recommended Cit tion J ohn W de. (2003) Arbitral Decision Making in F mily Property Disputes - Lotteries, Crystal Balls, nd Wild Guesses ,, . http://epublic . u/l w_pubs/108 This Journal Article is brought to you by the F culty of L w t ePublic tions@bond. It has been ccepted for inclusion in L w F culty Public tions by n uthorized dministr tor of ePublic tions@bond. For more inform tion, please cont ct Bond University s Repository Coordin tor. ARBITRAL DECISION MAKING IN FAMILY PROPERTY DISPUTES – LOTTERIES, CRYSTAL BALLS, AND WILD GUESSES John Wade∗ Bond University Outline 240 expert family lawyers in Australia, acting as arbitrators, wrote judgments/awards on an identical set of facts. These decisions varied dramatically in outcomes. This paper describes the process and varied outcomes. It then discusses why the consistently diverse range of outcomes caused such grief for these experts; what are the possible explanations for these diverse outcomes; and what are some possible implications if expert decision-makers consistently reach such diverse decisions? ∗ Director of Dispute Resolution Centre, School of Law, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia 4213; email john_wade@.au; website .au/law/centres/index. Consultant, Hopgood Ganim, Lawyers, Brisbane. This is a revised version of an article which originally appeared in (2003) 17 Aust Journal of Family Law 224.