News & Events

New Practice Direction in relation to Family Law Cases in the High Court

A new Practice Direction has been introduced in regard to the handling of Family Law cases in the High Court. The Practice Direction applies to cases which appear in the Direction List for the first time after the 5th. October 2009. To read a copy of the Practice Direction click here

Greater weight likely to be given to Pre Nups. in England

The Court of Appeal in England has given judgment in a recent case, Radmacher v Granantino, in regard to the weight to be given to a Prenuptial Agreement. The likely repercussions of the decision is that such agreements will carry greater weight in England in determining the financial arrangements to apply after divorce. To read a copy of the judgments in the case,  as reported in Family Law Week,  click here

Official Launch of the Family Lawyers Website

This Family Lawyers Website was lauched at a well attended reception held in the Distillery Building, Church St at 5.30p.m. on Tuesday, 19th.May 2009. Mr. Justice Henry Abbott, the Family Law High Court Judge  carried out the launching ceremony while Gerry Durcan S.C. took the attendance through a quick tour of the site. A seminar  followed at which Inge Clssman S.C. reviewed recent developments in the High Court while Sarah Fennell B.L.  looked at what has been happening in the Circuit Court.

English Family Courts opened to media

The Family Courts in England have been opened up to the media with effect from the 27th. April 2009 due to rule changes which came into operation from that date. The Family Proceedings (Amendment) (no.2) Rules S.I. 2009 No. 897 give a right to accredited media to attend the courts subject to the power of the Court to exclude them on a variety of grounds. Proceedings remain private, however, and considerable restrictions contain to apply as to what may or may not be reported. For further information read a very interesting article on the changes by Adam Wolanski in Family Law Week. Following the introduction there has been considerable coverage of certain family law cases together with the reaction of reporters to the Family Courts, see for example Camilla Cavendish and Case Studies Times Online 28th. April 2009.

Election of New Chairperson and Committee

Cormac Corrigan has been elected Chairperson of the Association for the coming year. The other members of new Executive Committee are Bronagh O’Hanlon, Kyle Leyden, Caroline Brennan, Justin Spain and John Martin. A seventh member is to be appointed.

Annual Conference 2008:

The Association celebarated its 21st. anniversary at a lively and well attended annual conference which was held at Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan. Among the topics discussed at the conference were Pensions, Alternative Dispute Resolution and the new Case Progression rules in the Circuit Court. The highlight of the weekend was the cutting of a special cake in the shape of the Four Courts at the conference dinner. This was carried out with due aplomb by the Chairperson Mary Griffin, using the Leslie family sword as the weapon of choice!

Case Progression:

New case progression rules in regard to family law cases in the Circuit Court have come into effect as of the 1st. October 2008. These rules contain important changes in regard to how such cases are to be dealt with and provide for case progression hearings before County Registrars. A copy of the rule changes can be found on the website of the Court Service and can be accessed by clicking here.

Collaborative Law:

The second European Collaborative Law Conference was held in Cork on the 2nd and 3rd May 2008. The venue was the Sheraton Hotel, Fota Island. Further details are available from the website of the Association of Collaborative Practitioners of Ireland.

A useful article on the nature of Collaborative Family Law is available on our Podcasts and Papers page.

4 Jurisdictions Conference Manchester

The 4 Jurisdictions Conference in Manchester which took place on the 8th. and 9th. February was attended by over 80 delegates from the Association. The morning session was devoted to the “Voice of the Child” while the afternoon dealt with ” Financial Provision for Non Marital Children.” The position in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland was examined by speakers from each jurisdiction. Baroness Hale gave an interesting paper in regard to the English perspective on hearing children while Mrs. Justice Catherine Mc Guinness spoke in relation to the position in Ireland. The Conference Dinner provided an oppertunity for less formal discussion and debate between colleagues from each of the jurisdictions.

 Catherine McGuinness   Baroness Hale

Annual Conference, Jurys Hotel Cork

The annual conference of the Association  took place in Jury’s Hotel in Cork on Saturday the 10th November.  On the previous evening delegates were greeted at a very pleasant and well attended drinks reception by our Cork hosts.

The theme of the conference was “Disclosure Obligations in Family Cases”.  The speakers were Rosemary Horgan, Solicitor who dealt with recent developments and case law in regard to the general disclosure obligation and Gerard Durcan S.C. on the disclosure obligations arising under the Money Laundering legislation. A short update on Collaborative Law was given by Patricia Mallon, Solicitor.

The conference was attended by over one hundred delegates who partcipated in question and answer sessions after each lecture. The Annual General Meeting of the Association took place at the end of the conference and the work of the various committees throughout the year was outlined to the members. A new Executive Committee was elected and happily Mary Griffin agreed to stay in office as Chairperson for another year.

A conference dinner  in the evening was a convivial and lively end to another successful conference.

16/11/2007
Child Abduction Seminar
On the 5th of March 2007 the Association held a seminar on the area of child abduction in the Distillery Building in Church Street. Mrs Justice Finlay Geoghegan, the High Court Judge who mainly deals with child abduction cases, kindly agreed to chair the proceedings. The first paper was presented by Ms Ann Kelly BL who dealt with the effects of the Brussels II (R) Regulation on Child Abduction. Helpfully she did not simply confine herself solely to child abduction but also explained the wider implications of the Regulation for all cases involving children. Ms Bronagh O’Hanlon SC spoke on the topic of mediation as applicable in the area of child abduction. Her contribution highlighted the possibilities for resolving disputes without the necessity of recourse to litigation or the resolution of such litigation by agreement. Finally the Seminar was addressed by Ms Mary Banotti who as a member of the European Parliament had taken a particular interest in the area of child abduction. She was able to give a very interesting insight into the practical difficulties which arise when a child is taken illegally from one country to another and also to put in context the response at Community level to the problem. The Seminar was very well attended and it finished with a lively question and answer session. This was the latest in a series of ongoing lectures and seminars which are being organised by the Education Committee of the Association with a view to providing greater information for the members of the Association in relation to different areas of family law. Details of forthcoming events will be posted on the Website.