Family Justice
Press release by The Collaborative Law Association of New Zealand Inc
21 June 2019
On Monday of this week,
the final report of the Independent Panel reviewing the 2014
Family Justice System changes was released.
The Panel’s report highlights considerable issues within the present Family Justice System including: pervasive delays, confusion and limitations around access to legal advice, inflexible and fragmented services, and a need for targeted counselling and culturally responsive services.
In one cohesive
process, Collaborative Practice addresses these issues and
provides families the opportunity to move themselves and
their children through separation without pitting them
against one another.
Access to justice should mean
each whanau has access to the appropriate dispute resolution
process that best suits that whanau’s needs. For many,
this will be Collaborative Practice which enables families
to access legal advice and any necessary wrap around
professional services in one complete, cohesive
process.
Unfortunately, families reliant on the Legal
Aid system do not have the choices of resolution options
afforded to the rest of the community and are left having to
use processes that may not be the best for them, their
whanau and their circumstances.
The Panel has
highlighted that the present narrow focus on mediation is
inconsistent with the original policy intent that family
dispute resolution be a flexible concept that draws on a
range of dispute resolution models to help families reach
agreement. The Association agrees that FDR must include a
range of more flexible processes than mediation alone,
including Collaborative Practice.
The Collaborative
Law Association of NZ hopes the Government will recognise
Collaborative Practice when considering changes to the
Family Justice System and include it within the menu of
choices for families.
Additional
Information:
About The Collaborative Law Association
of NZ
The Collaborative Law Association is an
incorporated society of lawyers, accountants, mediators,
divorce coaches and psychologists who are specially trained
in Collaborative Practice. Its members offer families
Collaborative Practice as a process for resolving their
family law issues.
What is Collaborative
Practice?
Many couples who are separating do not want to
go to Family Court. They also don’t want a drawn out,
expensive process involving lawyers “battling it out”.
They want their legal, financial and emotional matters dealt
with in a cost effective process characterised by dignity
and goodwill rather than inflamed animosity.
A resolution
process exists that aims to keep families away from the
usual horror stories associated with divorce and family law
disputes.
Using Collaborative Practice, specially
trained lawyers and other professionals provide partners
with a safe and dignified environment that is geared towards
reducing conflict, focussing on children’s welfare and
ensuring sound decisions and solutions are found.
During the process there are no lawyers’ letters.
Rather, everyone sits down and works together to find
solutions that reflect what is important to each party.
Agreements reached are legally enforceable but are often
more creative and customised to the family’s needs than
court orders or agreements reached through more traditional
methods of negotiating between a couple’s lawyers. Many
clients, on hearing about the process, describe it as simply
“common sense”.