Family Court changes to help reduce delays

A shake-up of the Family Court would see a counselling and mediation service established to handle disputes, freeing up judges for the most high-risk and complex cases.

Chief Family Court Judge Peter Boshier outlined the proposals in a speech to the Auckland Family Courts Association last night, saying the changes would help to reduce delays in the system.

Judge Boshier said the present "counselling service" was out of date in both name and approach. A new conciliation service was needed for litigants who did not require a formal defended hearing.

The conciliation service could stand alone or remain part of the Family Court but the important thing was to ensure it was "enhanced and is distinctly different" from the court itself, he said.

A court "intake consultant" - a position that could be filled by Family Court co-ordinators - would assess each case and decide whether to refer it straight to the court or conciliation. At present, most cases were referred automatically for counselling, which proceeded to mediation and then court if the dispute could not be resolved.

Only cases where there was a risk to children's welfare - such as allegations of sexual abuse or violence - should enter the Family Court directly and be "closely managed and determined by judges", said Judge Boshier.

The creation of legally qualified registrars to process a number of interim and procedural steps would also help to speed up the process and relieve judges of "enormous administrative work". Judge Boshier said some of the changes could be introduced through judicial leadership but others such as an expanded conciliation service and more comprehensive access for children to counselling would require legislative amendment.

Auckland family lawyer Brian Gubb supported the proposals, saying they would speed the court process and remove some of the "more destructive aspects of the adversarial process". It should also save money for the parties involved.

Mr Gubb said the number of cases handled by the Family Court continued to increase and the new system would free judges up to judge rather than mediate.

He did not believe children would fall through the gaps as any case involving violence or sexual abuse would go straight to court.

Antony Mahon, chairman of the Auckland Family Courts Association, said the proposals were "quite innovative" and had his support provided they were adequately funded and trained staff filled the new roles.

Darrell Carlin, spokesman for the Union of Fathers, said the group was keen to see a faster court process. At present there was no incentive for women to go through mediation as they knew they would win in court.

He supported more mediation, provided that equal shared custody was the "default position".

National Women's Refuge spokeswoman Lesley Melrose said it was vital that counsellors remained impartial and women did not feel pressured to agree to things they were not happy with.