Co-habiting couples will be afforded the same rights as married couples in disputes over shared property that arise if the relationship breaks down.
Circuit Court President, Mr Justice Esmond Smyth, said that from now on such cases would be listed in the Family Law Courts thereby affording co-habiting couples the right to have their case heard in camera.
Prior to yesterday's ruling, disputes, involving the division by the courts of increased market value in a shared home, have been held in public.
Child custody battles between partners in non-marriage relationshipshave always beenheld in camera. The decision on the secret hearingof equity disputes was handed down at a time when the Department ofJustice and the recently established Courts Service isworking tointroduce greater transparency and public awareness of how thecourtssystem operates.
The Government is currently considering the introduction of newlegislation to allow the reporting by barristers of judgments handeddown in the Family Lawcourts while still respecting the in-camerarestrictions on identifying theparties involved.
As the law stands, there is little or no way of publicly disseminating oftenhugely important in camera Family Law decisions of major public importance toanyone contemplating separation or divorce.
With the boom in property values over the past decade the number ofequity disputes involving the division of property assets between co- habiting couples has greatly increased. Legal practitioners believethat yesterday's decision will further starveinterested parties ofvital information relating to how the courts approach andhandlesuch cases.