The perfect family court?

Is there such a thing as the perfect family court? And, if so, what would this look like?

This is one of the tasks being addressed by the Two Wishes Law & Justice Advisory Board, which is now inviting responses to its 2023 Discussion Paper.

Two Wishes aims to transform how we all think about, and deal with, family separation and divorce – and to promote an approach based on scientific evidence that’s truly focused on the long-term wellbeing of children and their families. As such, we seek a shift from too-late, law-based interventions to a much greater emphasis on education and early intervention.

Yet, in many countries, family courts play a major, if not dominant, role in dealing with family separation. Their practices, directly and indirectly, affect the wellbeing of millions of children and other family members.

Creating the best-possible family law courts – ones that treat vulnerable families with compassion and can implement the evidence of what’s best for the long-term wellbeing of children – is thus of great importance to our work.

If family courts today are not fit-for-purpose, what elements are needed to create the perfect family court?