The voice of the child in private law proceedings: time to rethink the approach

Based on a presentation to the Court Service Family Law Seminar in October 2009, this article focuses on the needs of those children and young people caught up in the stresses of private law disputes, drawing on the research findings of the 10 year (1996-2006) Cardiff University Children in Divorce Research Programme. The author asserts that in the present economic crisis most of these children will receive less priority than those children subject to public law proceedings, commenting that in the context of the coming election and potential cuts in public expenditure it is possible that in future the government may expect families themselves to pay for their involvement with the family justice system in private family law proceedings. The article covers the consequences for the family justice system of the aftermath of recession, key messages from the Cardiff Children in Divorce Research Programme, how to accommodate the messages for reform which emerged from the research interviews with children and their parents, and the challenge for the recently announced comprehensive review of the family justice system

Judicial independence and the restructuring of family courts and their support services

Following the Family Justice Review and the government’s response to it, this article examines proposals for restructuring the family justice system with a new unified Family Court for England and Wales. The reforms raise questions about the principle of judicial independence and separation of powers in the operation of the new court. First, the proposals envisage a stronger leadership role for the judiciary in order to fulfil the aim of reducing current long delays in cases deciding children’s future care. This role will require the judiciary to head teams reliant on multidisciplinary work between themselves, court staff, welfare support services and mediators. Policies to remove legal aid and divert many more parents to mediation mean that mediators’ current functions will soon be extended. We argue that all these support services should therefore be recognised as associated with the judicial function. Secondly, the reforms are to be implemented through a new system headed by a Family Justice Board, although the court service and the judiciary are already operating a Family Business Authority and have produced proposals for the modernisation of family justice. There is therefore potential for confusion as to the remit of these bodies and the extent to which responsibility for family justice lies with the executive or judiciary. This will need to be clarified if the Family Court is to operate effectively

Interparental conflict and children's adaptation to separation and divorce: Theory, research and implications for family law, practice and policy

In the light of recent research findings from developmental psychology which point to the need to take account of children's views and perceptions of inter-parental conflict, this article raises serious concerns about recent measures to restrict both the use of child welfare reports in divorce cases and the power of courts to order the separate representation of children in cases of 'special difficulty' under r 9(5) of the Family Proceedings Rules 1991