Radical reduction in court time or detailed forensic fact-finding hearing? Can the two co-exist?

Clare Ciborowska 1 Crown Office Row

There is currently a tension in the family courts between reducing the length of proceedings and the pressure on the courts for hearing times with a need for a thorough forensic exploration of complex cases of domestic abuse and coercive control. Have the courts become a battleground for adult conflict or are courts ignoring the subtleties and complexities of coercive control and its impact on child arrangements? How should the court manage private law cases where allegations are raised but where its not necessarily clear at the outset whether such allegations go to the question of the division of a child’s time between his/her parents.

This article considers some of the competing factors at play and what family lawyers can do to ensure a fair trial on cases of serious domestic abuse and to provide robust advice in cases where little can be achieved for the child by litigating the ongoing adult conflict. 

The full article will be published in the December issue of Family Law. 

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