header-logo header-logo

A work in progress

28 February 2014 / David Burrows
Issue: 7596 / Categories: Features , Family
printer mail-detail
web_burrows_1

In an exclusive series David Burrows puts the new family court under scrutiny & assesses its ability to deliver justice

The 70 years since the end of World War 2 have seen the rate of family breakdown—or the liberalisation of family relationships—increase dramatically; and yet England and Wales have a court structure designed still to deal, mostly, with the trickle of divorces which the courts saw in 1859. That underlying position—a court structure derived from 1859—will not alter with the proposed new family court. That court is due to come into operation towards the end of April.

The administrative reform (seen from a Ministry of Justice perspective) is defined—some might say a little ignominiously—by Sch 10 to Crime and Courts Act 2013, which adds ss 31B–31P to the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984. No legislation (properly so called: Guidance has been issued) subsidiary to those sections has been made. That said, all is not entirely quiet on the administration front: a variety of guidance and direction has been issued and “mandatory” draft

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

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

Blake Morgan managing partner appointed chair of CBI South-East Council

Birketts—Phillippa O’Neill

Birketts—Phillippa O’Neill

Commercial dispute resolution team welcomes partner in Cambridge

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Firm strengthens international funds capability with senior hire

NEWS
The proposed £11bn redress scheme following the Supreme Court’s motor finance rulings is analysed in this week’s NLJ by Fred Philpott of Gough Square Chambers
In this week's issue, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist and former district judge, surveys another eclectic fortnight in procedure. With humour and humanity, he reminds readers that beneath the procedural dust, the law still changes lives
Generative AI isn’t the villain of the courtroom—it’s the misunderstanding of it that’s dangerous, argues Dr Alan Ma of Birmingham City University and the Birmingham Law Society in this week's NLJ
James Naylor of Naylor Solicitors dissects the government’s plan to outlaw upward-only rent review (UORR) clauses in new commercial leases under Schedule 31 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, in this week's NLJ. The reform, he explains, marks a seismic shift in landlord-tenant power dynamics: rents will no longer rise inexorably, and tenants gain statutory caps and procedural rights
Writing in NLJ this week, James Harrison and Jenna Coad of Penningtons Manches Cooper chart the Privy Council’s demolition of the long-standing ‘shareholder rule’ in Jardine Strategic v Oasis Investments
back-to-top-scroll