Family court and law reform watch 2022

Due to the "In camera" (in chambers/in private) rule, the family court judgements are highly secretive, with little anonynised (obviously) data publicised. This has huge consequences for the openness, transparency and accountability (of judges and legislators) which are meant to be key markers of a modern liberal democracy. However, some researchers and journalists are allowed report on cases if the judge allows it (obviously with no identifying information). Carol Coulter, Róisín O'Shea and Valerie Cox, among others, have written books, having followed such cases.

But most of these are ten or so years old, so what's happening in 2022 in our secretive family courts? Are judges modernising, or are they still making judgements like it's still 1950, knowing that only people with a lot of money can appeal their decisions to higher courts?

This thread is for any family law/separation/divorce judgements, news and family law reforms (ha! 'Abandon hope, all ye who enter here') you come across.

This morning: https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2022/08/04/inside-the-family-court-i-dont-know-what-to-do-with-him-as-it-is-complete-chaos/

Last week: Divorce applications increase 11 per cent to 5,856 in 2021:

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2022/07/28/courts-see-rise-in-serious-criminal-repossession-and-divorce-cases-in-2021/

High Court, March 2022: 'Woman’s claims of rape, sex assault against husband ‘not the truth’, judge finds':

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/woman-s-claims-of-rape-sex-assault-against-husband-not-the-truth-judge-finds-1.4836056

feelings

"Although pursuing the sexual allegations to such an extent amounted to “gross misconduct” in the court’s view, it did not consider separation provision should be influenced by this."

Says it all really.

Anyone making false allegations like in this case, where a court finds the allegations to be untrue, should be jailed or provisions altered as punishment. This type of abuse needs to be stopped.

TJM1

The system is so open to abuse by false allegations "he said/she said" and many of the "She's" know this well. It's disgraceful, I know of a man who is currently barred from his own house by his ex (it is not even the family home - he bought it with his part of the separation agreement). Now she's claiming all sorts and wants all of this house too. She squandered all her part of the initial separation agreement and it wasn't small change. A constant stream of lies and allegations and unfortunately mud sticks.

The most read story on The Irish Times this morning:

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2022/11/02/woman-must-pay-former-husband-16-million-as-part-of-divorce-settlement-judge-rules/

That's out of a marital wealth of €6.5 -€7 million so it's far from a 50:50 split so she must be happy (each of them must pay their own "substantial" legal costs, and you can be sure the financially stronger one was hoping to legally outspend the other into defeat so it's a shame courts don't penalise this practice).

Note, importantly, the judge dismissed her claims of spousal abuse as having no evidence. And, further, he granted "shared parenting", which is where the real parental power is, rather than merely "shared custody", which usually means female control, male removal from the family home and confinement to a bedsit and her de facto control of his time with their children.

Why are Irish judges in 2022 being so lenient with women who do this to fathers? How on earth does anybody expect fathers to get justice when women can make years of false allegations and denials of rights to equal parenting and still the judges chill out and facilitate it? Every solicitor in Ireland must be advising their female clients to do this "because you'll never be jailed, let alone named in public". Three years of destruction of children's relations with their father, not to mention the lies against that father's good name and honour (and no doubt she's playing the victim to anybody who will listen, as is the default position of a disproportionate number of women - but we're not allowed say this). Oh, and did she get control of the family home also?

https://kildare-nationalist.ie/2022/11/09/judge-loses-patience-and-orders-mothers-arrest-at-athy-court/

'A MOTHER who initially denied her child’s father paternity rights, then refused him visitation rights, threatened to leave the father off the birth cert, failed to turn up on court dates, and then made groundless sexual abuse allegations against him, finally wore out a judge’s patience and had a bench warrant issued against her after she failed to provide the child for agreed access.

At a recent sitting of the Family Court in Athy Judge Desmond Zaidan – who has been dealing with this case for nearly three years now – was reminded that an arrangement for access was agreed in June, but that “four times last month she failed to turn up at the railway station [as agreed]”.

“Judge, you’ve always said you’d have no problem sending someone to jail if she didn’t comply to the order,” said Frank Taaffe representing the father.

“From Day 1 he has always turned up, and she keeps making allegations to Tusla which were proved groundless,” he pointed out.

“I am going to issue a warrant for that woman’s arrest, because she is doing everything to frustrate that man from seeing his daughter, going on for two years now,” said the judge.

“I’ve said before if she’s not happy with my order [for access] she can appeal it, but she’s trying to tailor the circumstances to suit herself, it’s horrendous!” he added.

“If there were anything in the allegations Tusla would be the first to act, they would not sit on it, so for now a bench warrant,” said the judge about the absent mother.

At a previous appearance, the judge accused the mother of “playing ducks and drakes” with the court, because the matter had been before him 20 times and she had only turned up in court on one occasion.

This is now the third time the judge has threatened her with jail, but the first time he has issued a bench warrant.'

Zaidan, like every other judge in this State, needs to grow a pain of balls and send out a clear message that all these forms of abuse and bullying by control-freak women are not acceptable. The Irish State is long overdue being dragged to the ECHR for its refusal to ensure fathers in Ireland have the same rights as mothers do. The law and the judges are facilitating this abuse year-after-year of so many fathers. When Irish law starts sending the message that this treatment of fathers' rights - which is replicated across this State on a quotidian basis - is unacceptable, and faces down the "poor women" victimhood industry and all its taxpayer funding, there will be changes. In the meantime, this dichotomy of controlling mothers denying rights to fathers is being replicated in the courts of this State each and every day. Because, in the mind of all these women, women own the children, you see! There, somebody said it.

feelings

It's very sad reading and shows very little has changed in this country with regards fathers rights. They need to start jailing mothers/fathers, or at least significant fines, for each day access is denied. I know it sounds harsh and I'll get the usual "not in the best interest of the children" but as long as there are no consequences, nothing will change. It's the kids that lose out every time.

Lovely. Replace "man" with "woman" and do you think Judge Alec Gabbett  would be so lenient if the man poured boiling water on the woman? Sure didn't he have an affair on her... You go, girl! One for the wimmin. You legend. (oops, mask slipping, remember to play the eternal female victim...)

"A LIMERICK worker who claimed his wife beat him around the head with a slipper, tore off his clothes and poured hot water on his face, has had his application for a Safety Order against her refused...."

I love this bit from a Judge of this State: "Judge Gabbett asked the man “does your wife feel betrayed? Do you think there is a reason she might be cross?"

She punched and kicked him in the face many times, poured boiling water on his face, accessed his phone and then "Asked if she used any other weapons, the man said “she goes into the kitchen and grabs a knife and says “I want to kill you” in front of the children."

Hello? Hello Irish family law reform? We are all paying 23% VAT/Tax to this State on all our legal services. Just in case anybody thinks funding a modern, open courts' system is a matter of charity. It is our money. So, a divorce bill of €30,000 has almost €7,000 more added to it to pay for judges like Alex Gabbett, and a legal system with years and years of delays - all provided by our monopoly provider of the legal system, the Irish State. No incentive at all to appoint the 108 new judges which the OECD said two weeks ago are urgently needed (https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2023/02/25/irish-court-users-experience-poor-costly-and-lengthy-says-oecd/). This is kangaroo Court stuff going on in family law in Ireland in 2023 - oozing with discrimination against men. The Republic of Ireland is still a banana republic when it comes to the family law courts - funded in large part by the taxes of its male victims.

https://www.limerickpost.ie/2023/01/11/limerick-worker-claimed-wife-stripped-and-assaulted-him-over-affair/

GarfieldandPookyBear

And what about the fathers who continuously drag the mothers into court for more access while not even bothering to turn up for the access they have? What about the children who sit there week after week waiting to be collected but the father doesn’t turn up? Then when he does decide to show up, the children have had enough, they don’t want to know him and then he accuses the mother of parental alienation. Yes it’s a joke. Parents using their children to punish the other parent but it’s not just mothers.