header-logo header-logo

Fixing family law: a wish list

10 January 2019 / David Burrows
Issue: 7823 / Categories: Opinion , Divorce , Child law , Mediation , Family
printer mail-detail
nlj_7823_burrows

David Burrows looks ahead & shares his manifesto for change

What would I do if I ruled the family law world? I have started from recognition that opaque law is injustice in itself, and ended with a plea for legal aid (I have not included domestic abuse law reform since that is said to be in the course of being dealt with). My pleas for reform of family law reform would include the following:

1. Clarity: lack of clarity in law denies a fair trial, especially in these days of so many people being deprived of legal aid (see later). Family law is no exception. Parliament has fixed the rule-makers’ duty as to produce rules ‘with a view to securing that… the rules are both simple and simply expressed’ (Courts Act 2003 s 75(5)). Frequently this is not achieved by the rules: for example, much of Pt 16 (representation of children) is a repetition, with convoluted and confusing complexity, of the 1991 rules (see later); FPR 2010

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll