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12 September 2019 / Graeme Fraser
Issue: 7855 / Categories: Opinion , Family , Divorce
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Back to square one?

Graeme Fraser shares ten family law priorities with the new Lord Chancellor…for when Parliament returns

The suspension of Parliament this month leaves a significant body of unfinished business yet to make it through the halls of Westminster, including the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill, which many of us hope to see reintroduced as soon as normal service is resumed. With some time on his hands to contemplate his in-tray during the party conference season, here are some suggested reforms for the recently appointed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland QC, on how he could help improve access to justice, and equality of arms in the family law courts and the wider legal family.

No fault divorce

When the government introduced the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill, it promised to reform the divorce process to remove the concept of fault. With the prorogation of Parliament on Monday night, this unfortunately means the Bill will not proceed any further. Considering the existing support for this Bill across the House,

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Lawyers have welcomed the Lord Chancellor’s reverse-ferret on jury reforms, but expressed ‘serious concerns’ about the decision to exclude fraud trials
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The use of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) poses ‘significant risks’ across the justice system, public services and government, and current regulation is ‘poorly suited’ to control it, experts have warned
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The government has launched a £16m legal support grant to support 48 frontline legal advice organisations supporting people facing eviction, problem debt, benefit disputes and family breakdown
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