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Difference between revisions of "Case Conferences in a Family Law Matter"
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Case Conferences in a Family Law Matter (view source)
Revision as of 15:10, 19 May 2013
, 15:10, 19 May 2013→Resolving a court proceeding without a trial
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==Resolving a court proceeding without a trial== | ==Resolving a court proceeding without a trial== | ||
There are many reasons why it | There are many reasons why it's important that family law court proceedings are resolved by agreement. From the court's point of view, settlement frees up valuable court and administrative resources that can be applied to other cases and lessens the likelihood that the case will require ongoing court hearings in the future. From the point of view of the parties, the people involved in the family law case, settlement is cheap, helps to protect the children from ongoing conflict, and gives everyone involved the best chance of having a tolerable relationship with each other as time goes on. | ||
Lawyers also have an interest in settling matters, for all of the same reasons why settlement is important to the courts and to the parties. In addition, | Lawyers also have an interest in settling matters, for all of the same reasons why settlement is important to the courts and to the parties. In addition, lawyers have a professional and an ethical duty to promote settlement wherever possible, providing that a proposed settlement is not an unreasonable compromise of our clients' interests. This is written into our [http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=2578&t=BC-Code-Table-of-Contents Code of Professional Conduct]. | ||
The rules of court have evolved to provide additional opportunities for settlement and steer people away from trial. In the [http://canlii.ca/en/bc/laws/regu/bc-reg-169-2009/latest/bc-reg-169-2009.html Supreme Court Family Rules], | The laws and rules of court for family law proceedings have evolved to provide additional opportunities for settlement and steer people away from trial and out of court. In fact, s. 4 of the provincial ''[[Family Law Act]]'' says that the purposes of the part of the act on dispute resolution are to: | ||
<blockquote><tt>(b) to encourage parties to a family law dispute to resolve the dispute through agreements and appropriate family dispute resolution before making an application to a court;</tt></blockquote> | |||
<blockquote><tt>(c) to encourage parents and guardians to</tt></blockquote> | |||
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(i) resolve conflict other than through court intervention, and</tt></blockquote></blockquote> | |||
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(ii) create parenting arrangements and arrangements respecting contact with a child that is in the best interests of the child.</tt></blockquote></blockquote> | |||
Rule 7-1 of the [http://canlii.ca/en/bc/laws/regu/bc-reg-169-2009/latest/bc-reg-169-2009.html Supreme Court Family Rules], requires the parties to a family law court proceeding to attend a judicial case conference early in the proceeding, and Rule 7-2 allows the parties to schedule a settlement conference with a judge. Under Rule 7-1(15)(a), one of the purposes of a JCC is to: | |||
<blockquote><tt>identify the issues that are in dispute and those that are not in dispute and explore ways in which the issues in dispute may be resolved without recourse to trial</tt></blockquote> | |||
Rule 7 of the [http://canlii.ca/t/85pb Provincial Court Family Rules] allows a judge to require the parties to attend a family case conferences for the same sort of purpose. | |||
==Judicial case conferences== | ==Judicial case conferences== | ||
