Magistrates are essential to an efficient family justice system
3 min read
In private law cases, magistrates determine what is in the best interests of children when parents are separating and cannot agree on arrangements.
But delays in the progression of private law cases in magistrates’ courts bring significant consequences, particularly for the children involved in proceedings. The average time to final order is now 41 weeks.
However some of the suggestions to remedy the issue of delays, such as moving private law cases away from magistrates, are misplaced. These delays are not caused by magistrates, and they work hard every day to reach the right determinations in as timely a manner as possible, within a system which is under-resourced and rife with inefficiencies.
New approaches are being trialled, such as the Private Law Pathfinder Scheme. Initially piloted from February 2022, next year it will extend across Wales and West Yorkshire alongside Dorset, North Wales, South East Wales and Birmingham where it is already in place. Pathfinder has seen substantial reductions in delays. In North Wales, the time to reach final orders fell from 29 weeks to 18 and the number of open cases fell from 478 to 202. Magistrates who sit on cases operating under the Pathfinder scheme have welcomed the improvements in timeliness.
The Family Magistrates Oversight Group, made up of senior judiciary and leading magistrates, has set an expectation that family magistrates hear 48 per cent of all private law cases and in practice, it is often higher. Preventing magistrates from hearing these cases would only exacerbate the issue of timeliness.
It would also cost more. Private law cases can be heard either by family magistrates sitting as a ‘bench’ of three magistrates or by a single district judge (DJ). There are currently over 3,000 family magistrates volunteering in England and Wales and the significant contribution they make to hearing private law cases would have to be taken up entirely by salaried DJs.
There is no difference in the quality of outcomes between cases heard by magistrates and DJs. While family magistrates are lay people, they undergo a rigorous selection process. Upon being appointed, they must complete extensive training in their first year, ongoing training in each successive year, and be regularly appraised. Further, family magistrates sit in court alongside a legal adviser, who is legally qualified and provides advice to the bench.
In court, professionals from across agencies gather and provide information to the bench alongside any legal representatives for the parties involved. Magistrates are selected, trained, and experienced in understanding, assessing and making decisions based on all the information received in the courtroom. There is no evidence to suggest that magistrates are more likely to exhibit unconscious bias than the paid judiciary. Indeed, the magistracy is the most diverse part of the judiciary – from bankers to bus drivers, magistrates come from all parts of society.
Magistrates take great care over each case and work diligently, unpaid, to reach judicious and impartial decisions and serve their communities. Removing family magistrates from private law cases would be counter-productive, increase costs, and disadvantage children and families by further delaying case resolutions. As the only independent voice for magistrates in England and Wales, the MA welcomes those interested to meet with us to discuss the role and work of magistrates.
Tracy Sortwell JP, chair of the Magistrates’ Association family court committee
