A family court is a court convened in the UK to make orders in respect of children's residence. Two types of scenario are covered by The Children Act 1989: private law cases, where the applicant and respondent are usually the child's parents; and public law cases, where the parents are not directly involved. There is much debate at present over whether the manner in which the law is administered generally leads to outcomes that are beneficial to the families concerned. In this context, see Fathers' rights.
The ALRC found FamilyCourt procedures were felt to be rigid and bureauratic, that an inflexible approach forced litigants through a number of 'court events' adding to delays and costs.
Family Law barrister Ian Mawson acknowledges there are serious problems in the current system, but doesn't think the blame lies only with the court or lawyers.
And as the court has come up with case management ideas, which involve early intervention, with a view to trying to settle the litigation, and one of the disputes about that is that there is too much intervention, too much management, not enough decision making.
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