The Courts Service has launched a multi-media pre-court information video for family law court users. 

The information will help service users better prepare for their court visit and have a clearer understanding of what to expect when in the court building. 

The initiative is in a bid to alleviate what court users have described as “stressful and confusing” first-time visits to court.

The information video is on www.courts.ie  and on the Courts Service YouTube channel.

As part of the Family Law Reform Programme, a Courts Service team spoke with service users and heard that there was very little information available to help them know what to expect. 

User-tested

A variety of users identified and tested the type of information that would be useful, including:

• Courts Service staff,
• Judiciary,
• Legal practitioners,
• Advocacy groups, and
• Members of the public who had recent cases in the family courts.

The animation videos are available on YouTube: 

• How To Prepare For Your Family Law Hearing - YouTube,
• Attending Family Law Court - YouTube.

The Courts Service Family Law Reform Team plans to release further content during 2022 to ensure service users have access to plain language information that will make their court interactions easier.

Feedback is welcome at  familylawreform@courts.ie.