Delays in the courts, especially in cases involving children, could be contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, solicitor Ms Muriel Walls told the conference. She pointed out that the convention was soon to be incorporated into Irish law.
The European Court of Human Rights has also stated that a fair hearing includes reasons for the judgment, in order to allow the party to appeal, she said. At the moment reasons are not given in many family law cases.
The ECHR could also have an impact in providing for wider representation for children in their own right, giving them a greater voice in private law proceedings, she said. It also gives the child's family greater rights than exist here at the moment when a child is taken into care.
The protection it gives to a person's private life could mean protection against compulsory medical intervention, including compulsory blood tests in paternity actions, she said.
Ms Melody McReynolds, a Northern Ireland barrister, told the conference there could be difficult issues for the family courts where one party (usually the husband) had evaded tax or been involved in crime. "Drug dealers and other criminals are unlikely to be immune from marital breakdown," she said.
A court had stated last January that where a court was satisfied illegal conduct had taken place, and it had no power similar to that of a criminal court, it should generally report the relevant material to the appropriate public authority.