Family Justice System

The family justice system exists to help families resolve disputes arising in respect of family matters quickly and with the minimum of disruption to those involved.

In most cases, the parties are encouraged to resolve their family disputes out of court, for example through mediation, unless this is not a safe course. This approach is taken because outcomes are more likely to be successful if the parties themselves have had a role in planning and agreeing that outcome.

Where agreement is not possible, the court still works to make the family dispute less adversarial, even though the case needs to go to court for the judge to decide the proper outcome.