ABSTRACT
Today, family courts are largely concerned with the law relat ing to the family unit. They deal with:
or neglect; and
Family matters can be dealt with by district judges in County Courts and Family Proceedings Courts, which are special ist magis trates’ courts, and can also be heard in the Family Division of the High Court (see sections 6.5.5 and 6.5.6 for a detailed break down of the family courts). As part of an effort to reform the family justice system, the Single Family Court, or Family Court as it is some times called, was created on 22 April 2014 under the Crime and Courts Act 2013, The Family Court can deal with all family proceed ings except those which have been exclus ively reserved for the High Court. The creation of the Family Court was designed to give family matters their own unique place inside the justice system. Although magis trates’ courts and the new single County Court cannot hear family matters as of right, the Family Court can sit anywhere inside England and Wales and so it is able to sit inside county or magis trates’ build ings.
