Retiring Family Court justice says royal commission ‘should be considered’ if problems remain
THE retiring chief justice of the Family Court has broken ranks with fellow judges and admitted that a royal commission into the family law system may be needed.
NSW
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THE retiring chief justice of the Family Court has controversially broken ranks with fellow judges and admitted that a royal commission into the family law system may be needed.
Chief Justice John Pascoe admitted it may be the only way to allay public concerns over the court which has a backlog of cases so long that they could not be cleared within a year even if all judges worked on them full-time.
It is the first time a Family Court judge has addressed increasing calls for a royal commission from advocacy groups including the National Council for Single Mothers and Their Children and the Lone Fathers Association and Sole Fathers United and led by Bravehearts.
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In a strong speech to the Family Law Conference in Brisbane, Chief Justice Pascoe warned that if the merging of the Family and Federal Circuit Courts and a review by the Australian Law Reform Commission did not work, then a royal commission could be needed.
“Continual tinkering with the system, which we have seen for the past 40 years, in my opinion, adds to complexity, uncertainty and cost,” Chief Justice Pascoe said.
“We are in a further period of change and upheaval in the family law system, with the legislative restructure of the courts before Parliament and the ALRC review of the system as a whole well under way.
“If legislation and the ALRC do not assuage public concern, it must be time to consider a Royal Commission into Family Law.”
He said a royal commission would allow all the stakeholders to have their say.
“Whatever happens, the focus must be on the best interests of children, including their safety, and the welfare of families. The courts must not be drawn into political controversies; judicial independence and the separation of powers must not be compromised,” Chief Justice Pascoe said.
The backlog in cases was so long that if the courts did nothing but hear old cases for the next 12 months, they still would not get through them all, the chief judge of the Federal Circuit Court, Justice Will Astergren, said.
He also acknowledged that there had to be urgent changes with the backlog of 21,000 cases and 105,000 new family law proceedings each year, of which 20,000 go to hearings.
Justice Astergren said they needed change “now” and foreshadowed demanding more funding from the federal government.
“There has been a chorus of people calling for reform and very few (if any) arguments to the contrary,” Justice Astergren said.
“The courts administering family law are suffering from unrelenting workloads and significant backlogs resulting in unacceptable delays.
“We should in fact embrace the opportunity to improve our system.
“It is about looking at what can be done now.”
He said the courts had recently targeted 1660 old cases that had been in the family court system for “many years” where both sides were entrenched in their positions and costs had become unreasonably high.
Since November, half of those cases had been settled.
“It saved hundreds of judge days in court, costs, and most importantly, stress on families and children,” he said.
The previous Chief Justice of the Family Court, Justice Diana Bryant, was known to be against a royal commission into the system.