Family Court merger condemned by former judges and legal experts after legislation passed
Posted
ThuThursday 18
updated
ThuThursday 18
The family court will now be merged with the Federal Circuit Court.
(
Print text only
Cancel
Former judges and legal support services have expressed their dismay at the devastating passage of legislation that will see the Family Court combined with the Federal Circuit Court, with claims survivors of domestic violence could end up falling through the cracks .
Key points:
The move was opposed by Labor and some within the legal profession
Former judges say they do not think it will make the system more efficient
Litigation funding and market disclosure rules set for overhaul
Share
A government plan to give company directors a permanent reprieve on continuous disclosure obligations has been given a tick of approval by a parliamentary committee investigating litigation funders.
The committee s final report released on Monday was generally scathing of the litigation funding sector, which it accused of using the justice system for the primary motive of generating a return on investment.
Committee chairman Senator James Paterson.
Alex Ellinghausen Under the current regulatory framework victims are getting cents on the dollar whilst litigation funders and their shareholders are seeing returns of up to 500 per cent, committee chairman Senator James Paterson said.
Radical Fix For Australia’s ‘Broken’ Family Court System Met With Resistance
Legal bodies and the federal opposition are vehemently opposing a “radical” move to merge the Family Court of Australia with the Federal Court.
One expert however says the merger is a step in the right direction and will provide “considerable benefits” to families navigating the system.
The Family Court of Australia has been the subject to four parliamentary inquiries over the past two decades seeking to address what former Law Council of Australia President Arthur Moses SC once described as “broken.”
Late last year, the federal government announced a new Bill which would merge both courts into one entity.