David Burrows looks ahead & shares his manifesto for change
What would I do if I ruled the family law world? I have started from recognition that opaque law is injustice in itself, and ended with a plea for legal aid (I have not included domestic abuse law reform since that is said to be in the course of being dealt with). My pleas for reform of family law reform would include the following:
1. Clarity: lack of clarity in law denies a fair trial, especially in these days of so many people being deprived of legal aid (see later). Family law is no exception. Parliament has fixed the rule-makers’ duty as to produce rules ‘with a view to securing that… the rules are both simple and simply expressed’ (Courts Act 2003 s 75(5)). Frequently this is not achieved by the rules: for example, much of Pt 16 (representation of children) is a repetition, with convoluted and confusing complexity, of the 1991 rules (see later); FPR 2010 Pt 9 (finance) is often written in the turgid style (frequent
