Family Law

Changes are to be made to family law proceedings to prevent parents from abusing controversial concepts like "parental alienation". Justice minister Helen McEntee said ministers had approved reforms to ensure that "issues like parental alienation cannot take hold and cannot be part of any decisions

Northern Ireland's Department of Justice is considering whether journalists should be allowed to report on family court proceedings in response to calls from domestic abuse survivors. Several women have met with the victims of crime commissioner designate to push for increased transparency in the fa

A family lawyer seeking election to the European Parliament has criticised plans to move divorce, judicial separation and cohabitation proceedings to the District Court. Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, a practising barrister who is running as a Fianna Fáil candidate for the Ireland South co

Child rapists in England and Wales will automatically lose parental responsibility over their own children under legislative amendments proposed by the UK government. The change comes alongside separate legislation which will apply an automatic suspension of parental responsibility in cases where a

Children's charity Barnardos has raised concerns about proposed family court reforms which senior lawyers warn could lead to a "two-tier" family justice system. The Bar of Ireland and the Family Lawyers' Association (FLA) strongly oppose plans to move most judicial separations, divorce and co-habita

Virtually no family lawyers support government proposals to reallocate most divorce, judicial separation, and co-habitation proceedings to the District Court, a new survey suggests. The Family Lawyers Association surveyed its 286 solicitor and barrister members ahead of a summit on the Family Courts

The long-awaited dedicated family courts complex in Dublin has reached a significant milestone with the approval of planning permission.

Proposals to transfer judicial separations, divorce and co-habitation proceedings to the District Court risk creating a "two-tier family justice system", senior lawyers have warned. The Bar of Ireland, backed by the Family Lawyers' Association (FLA), which represents over 500 barristers and solicito

A pilot programme providing for more court sittings during the Long Vacation has been welcomed by practitioners. Mr Justice David Barniville, president of the High Court, yesterday set out details of the pilot, which will begin on 1 July 2024 and run until the end of September 2024.

Dr Deirdre McGowan offers a family law perspective on the coming family and care referendums. We have become accustomed to referendums that result in practical positive change. The equal-marriage referendum allowed previously excluded couples to get married. Similarly, repealing the eighth amendment

The family courts are "no longer safe for lawyers or litigants" and government plans only risk worsening the situation, a leading family lawyer has warned. The Irish Times yesterday revealed that the Bar Council wrote to the Courts Service last November to raise concerns about violence in Dolphin Ho

The Legal Aid Board's family mediation service has launched a new call-back service aimed at making free mediation more accessible to families. Free mediation is available to families who have undergone a divorce, separation or living apart, as well as those navigating challenges in the aftermath of

Northern Ireland’s High Court has upheld an order freeing twin girls for adoption despite their mother’s contention that her aunt was a suitable kinship carer in light of her ability to accommodate the twins’ mixed racial and cultural background. Delivering judgment for the High Co

A judgment of the European Court of Human Rights this month found that the Slovak justice system had taken too long to enforce an order for contact between a mother and her son and had breached their rights in terms of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The mother who brought the

The High Court has granted a decree of divorce to a couple who will continue to live together in the family home under the terms of their settlement agreement. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice John Jordan determined that “if a couple can be considered as living apart from one