Current Issues and Future Directions

This chapter focuses on current preoccupations of the family court and highlights future directions. Some of these concerns have arisen in response to unacceptable delays in proceedings which may exacerbate the harm already experienced by children. There is a growing understanding that children need a voice in proceedings that concern them. In private law disputes the family court is moving away from an adversarial towards an investigative approach with encouragement and incentives for families to engage in alternative forms of dispute resolution such as mediation. The chapter also considers the government’s response to inquiries into the devastating long-term consequences of sexual abuse, the increase in the number of children experiencing deprivation of liberty and the developing use of artificial intelligence. Aspects of the law relating to the family court can change rapidly. Experts need ways of keeping up-to-date with these changes in order to maintain credibility and provide critical opinions that benefit children and their families appearing in the family court.