*/
Lord Justice Wall, the President of the Family Division, has called for greater “judicial continuity” in family cases and warned of the trauma which separating parents inflict on their offspring.
In a speech to the charity, Families Need Fathers, in Coventry this month, Wall LJ asked whether the family justice system is in need of review.
“The first and critical change which ... needs to be made is to make the system less adversarial. This is more difficult than it sounds,” he said. Parents were harming children during divorce proceedings by using them as “the battlefield” and “the ammunition”.
Wall LJ said he often came across cases which had been dealt with by “as many as nine or ten judges”, with sometimes inconsistent decisions. “In short, there was a total lack of judicial continuity”. This was a case management issue which had to be addressed, he said.
He said mediation will become compulsory in most cases before proceedings can be launched, under the current government, although the details have yet to be worked out.
Meanwhile the MoJ has delayed until late next year a decision on whether to increase media access to family courts.
In a speech to the charity, Families Need Fathers, in Coventry this month, Wall LJ asked whether the family justice system is in need of review.
“The first and critical change which ... needs to be made is to make the system less adversarial. This is more difficult than it sounds,” he said. Parents were harming children during divorce proceedings by using them as “the battlefield” and “the ammunition”.
Wall LJ said he often came across cases which had been dealt with by “as many as nine or ten judges”, with sometimes inconsistent decisions. “In short, there was a total lack of judicial continuity”. This was a case management issue which had to be addressed, he said.
He said mediation will become compulsory in most cases before proceedings can be launched, under the current government, although the details have yet to be worked out.
Meanwhile the MoJ has delayed until late next year a decision on whether to increase media access to family courts.
Lord Justice Wall, the President of the Family Division, has called for greater “judicial continuity” in family cases and warned of the trauma which separating parents inflict on their offspring.
Signs of real change – more work to be done
Philip N Bristow explains how to unlock your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step
With the property market witnessing significant changes since the beginning of the pandemic, Fleet Street Wealth’s Managing Director Julian Morgan considers the future of the home, the second home and the office
In partnership with the Bar Council, LexisNexis is offering up to 60% off its extensive webinar offering.
Chambers is expanding its team.
Making a move from the Bar to a career in governance: Maria Brookes outlines three good reasons to switch and how to do it
The family law system is in crisis and a failure to recognise it as such demeans the Herculean efforts of all involved, writes Celestine Greenwood, an exhausted family practitioner
Time to look afresh at the imposter syndrome narrative? Why pathologizing normal anxieties can be unhelpful to barristers and future generations. By Kate Brunner QC and Sarah Regan
Cultural change is actually just a numbers game joining the dots and wearing the pin.Chris Gutteridge's lessons learnt...
The pandemic and widespread introduction of remote hearings has been an interesting start to a career at the Bar: Lola-Rose Avery shares a day in her life
Bridging the Bar (BTB) is opening up the Bar to people from non-traditional backgrounds. BTB mentor, Laurence Cooper and his mentee, Jake Acock chat about the mentoring scheme
