Justice Reform Initiatives ~ Early Solutions, Faster Justice

Family Justice Reform Projects

Report of the Family Justice Reform Working Group

The Justice Review Task Force established the Family Justice Reform Working Group in July 2003 and asked it to explore opportunities for fundamental reform of BC's family justice system to better meet the needs of separating and divorcing families. In May 2005 the Working Group delivered its report "A New Justice System for Families and Children".

The report builds on reports and studies done in BC and elsewhere over the previous 3 decades. The report proposes a family justice system that is fundamentally different from the adversarial framework of the past, "one that is actually designed for families."

Recommendations of the Working Group include:

• creation of Family Justice Information Centres offering information, needs assessment and referrals to other services,
  
  
• a collaborative dispute resolution session before taking a first contested step in a court process,
  
  
• a unified family court to work with all areas of family law, with judges specialized in family law and court procedures, and
  
  
• simplified procedures for family law including new court rules, less formal hearings and use of online forms.

For more information about the Family Justice Reform Working Group visit the BC Justice Review Task Force website or read the Working Group's report, "A New Justice System for Families and Children". [PDF]