First set of family-law reports published
The Minister for Justice has published the first volume of case reports from the Family Law Reporting Project.\
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice chose the Child Law Project (CLP), headed by Dr Carol Coulter (small picture), to produce reports and information on family-law cases in the courts for a three-year period.
The project aims to increase public understanding of family-law proceedings by providing anonymised reports on a representative sample of family-law cases, ensuring that the privacy of families is upheld.
The first volume of case reports contains 103 anonymised reports from family-law proceedings in the District, Circuit, and High Court.
‘Valuable insight’
Minister Jim O’Callaghan said that the reports provided “valuable insight” into family-law cases.
Dr Coulter said that decisions made in family-law cases could have a profound and life-long impact, particularly on children, yet what happened in the family-law courts was “largely unknown”.
“I hope that the Family Law Reporting Project will bring transparency to these courts and also help dispel the fears and misapprehensions many people have, as well as informing a discussion on what further reforms of the family-law system may be needed,” she stated.
Thematic reports
The reports published today (19 August) range from domestic-violence applications in the District Court to financial disputes subject to appeal in the High Court.
As well as case reports, the reporting project will also prepare annual thematic reports that will identify key themes and trends emerging from its case reports across the court jurisdictions.
The establishment of the project follows a report on the in camera rule last year that made several recommendations on promoting greater transparency in family-law proceedings.