The haphazard development of the family law system has led to overcrowded lists, lengthy adjournments and some courts sitting late into the night, Dr Carol Coulter's family law pilot project has found.
She said the family law system had grown in a haphazard way to meet demand and delays in cases coming to court were "endemic" at Circuit Court level outside Dublin. Usually three family Circuit Courts sit in Dublin in a dedicated court on a full-time basis.
Outside Dublin, judges often sat into the night in an attempt to hear their cases, she said. "Despite the very best efforts of everyone concerned, the quality, both of representation and of justice delivered at 8pm or 9pm must be questionable."
Dr Coulter said there was "a compelling case" for a new family law division of the Circuit Court so that family law would not have to compete for resources with other areas of law in District and Circuit Courts around the State. She recommended a regional network of ten to 15 family courts, backed up by ancillary services such as counselling, mediation and specialist child welfare advisers.
Dr Coulter said that despite the best efforts of court staff and judges, "lists are overcrowded; cases including urgent cases involving matters relating to the welfare of children, are adjourned for weeks or months at a time; courts often sit late into the night; and litigants cannot be sure that, if their case is adjourned, it will be heard by the same judge when it resumes".
She said information was patchy and while there were leaflets on various issues, there was no one-stop-shop where all the options, including counselling and mediation, were outlined.
She recommended the use of a "case progression" system whereby the county registrars would meet with both parties' solicitors before the case is listed, so that as many issues as possible are agreed before the case comes before a judge. A pilot project is under way in two counties and draft rules are being examined by the Circuit Court's rules committee.
Dr Coulter also highlighted the discontinuation of the work done by the Probation Service in assessing children involved in family conflict and offering guidance to the courts about their welfare. She said the service had been discontinued because of under-resourcing but there was "a strong argument" for revisiting it.
Asked about this, Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan said he did not believe it was the job of probation officers to get involved in family law matters but he said there may be other ways of providing such a service.
Dr Coulter pointed out that many of her recommendations were made by the Law Reform Commission 11 years ago but were not implemented.
