Family Law

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

The Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association (DSBA) is hosting a webinar on the Family Courts Bill 2022 this afternoon. Cliona Costelloe, chairperson of the DSBA's family law committee, will chair the discussion with Peter Doyle, chair of the Law Society's child and family law committee, and former chairs

Planned reforms to the enforcement of child maintenance orders have been welcomed as a potential "game-changer" for parents. The Department of Justice today published a 26-page report setting out 26 recommendations for improvements to the current system of enforcement of child maintenance orders, wh

Researchers are seeking to survey parents who have experience of the Irish family law system in situations of domestic violence and abuse. The research study, being undertaken by Trinity College Dublin in collaboration with Women's Aid, is said to be the first study which specifically seeks both adu

Keith Walsh SC criticises government plans to expand the jurisdiction of the District Court. The Family Courts Bill 2022 provides for the establishment of a Family High Court, Family Circuit Court and Family District Court as divisions within the existing court structures. The aim is the development

Northern Ireland’s High Court has refused to appoint a McKenzie friend in family law proceedings on the basis that she attempted to inappropriately influence the court and lacked a basic understanding of practice and procedure. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice David McFarland

Providing more support for litigants in person would help to ease pressure on Northern Ireland's family courts, according to new research from Ulster University. Two reports produced by Ulster University School of Law with funding from the Nuffield Foundation set out recommendations which researcher

A senior English judge in the family courts has been treated in hospital after he was assaulted by a man whose case he was hearing. The litigant in person, who cannot be named, has pleaded guilty to assault, criminal damage and causing intentional harassment, alarm or distress and is due to be sente

Plans for Dublin's long-awaited new family courts complex are available for public viewing for the next six weeks following the formal notice of proposed development. The notice published by the Office of Public Works (OPW) yesterday marks a small step forward for the project, and means the plans fo

A technical error in legislation requiring single mothers to name the father of their child when registering their birth is to be fixed nearly a decade after it was signed into law. Section 6 of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014, which concerns the registration of a child's father where th

Family justice expert Anthony Douglas CBE has been appointed to help progress preparations for the planned guardian ad litem (GAL) national service. Mr Douglas is the former chief executive of Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, which represents children in family co

Northern Ireland’s High Court granted a return order for a mother attempting to return her child to Northern Ireland despite the fact that the child was residing in a Middle Eastern country that was not a signatory to any of the Hague Convention treaties, such as the jurisdiction treaty of 199

Concern has been raised that the District Court is "overworked" and could soon be "in gridlock" after new figures revealed a 39 per cent increase in civil matters coming before the court last year. The Courts Service annual report for 2022 reveals that 127,289 new cases came before the District Cour

A record number of divorce applications were brought to the High Court last year, with a 10 per cent increase in cases with more than €3 million in assets at stake, according to reports. There were 53 divorce cases initiated in the High Court and 5,498 in the Circuit Court in 2022, the Irish In