Court of Appeal to stop hearing some challenges on family court rulings

Court of Appeal judges are to stop hearing some challenges to decisions made in local family courts.

People unhappy about rulings by local family court judges have traditionally been able to outline their concerns in the Court of Appeal in London.

But lower-ranking High Court judges are to start to hearing some challenges as part of a change introduced by judicial heads.

Officials say the move is aimed at reducing the workload of Court of Appeal judges.

They say some challenges will now routinely be considered at hearings in the Family Division of the High Court.

A Judicial Office spokesman said the aim of the change was to “relieve pressure on the Court of Appeal”.

The move follows concerns about a rise in the number of people who decide to represent themselves when challenging decisions made by family court judges because of changes to the legal aid system.

Several judges have complained that problems are being generated because legal aid reform means that some people embroiled in family court disputes can no longer get public money to pay for lawyers.

Conservative ministers have defended changes to the legal aid system.

Last week a specialist lawyer said statistics showed that family courts were under “increasing pressure”.

Jo Edwards, a family law specialist at law firm Forsters, said Ministry of Justice figures showed that care cases – where local authorities consider taking children from their home – had risen by 24% over the last year

She said statistics also showed that the number of private law family cases – where separated couples are embroiled in disputes – in which neither party was legally represented had increased by 17% since mid-2013.

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