Options ‘key’ to family disputes

JUSTICE Minister Brian Lenihan has added his voice to that of attorney general Paul Gallagher by calling for the development of alternatives to the courts for the resolution of family disputes in Ireland.

Speaking at the European Collaborative Law Conference in Cork, Mr Lenihan invited collaborative lawyers to submit formal proposals on how their resolution model can be incorporated into legislation.

In what will be seen as a significant boost for the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) model, the minister said there was an undeniably strong case for encouraging alternatives to litigation to resolve disputes arising from family breakdown in particular.

“Agreements reached by the spouses themselves through collaboration are more likely to be respected than court order resolutions. Furthermore, I am particularly struck by the assertion that collaborative law is geared towards the future and the ongoing well being of all members of the family. That is of supreme importance and conflict over children is too often a sad and tragic reality in the event of family breakdown,” he said.

Attorney general Paul Gallagher SC, told the conference that there are 200,000 adults in Ireland with broken marriages.

“Humanity should not be twisted into law and our humanity should tell us that in family law we need alternative dispute resolution,” he said.