IT may be time for family law cases to be held in open court and reported by the media, but with restrictions preventing the identification of the parties involved, according to Mr Justice Declan Budd.
Mr Justice Budd was speaking yesterday at the launch of a book, Divorce in Ireland, by Kieron Wood and Paul O'Shea.
Because of the absence of any reports of family law cases, the public has not been aware of the huge volume of marital breakdown until recently, he said.
"With the advent of divorce, where a change in marital status affects not just the couple involved but society at large, perhaps a look should be taken at the Australian system. Family law cases are dealt with in open court, but with restrictions preventing the identification of the parties involved," he said.
He also said the court should be the last resort after marriage counselling, especially about dispute resolving and family budget arrangements; mediation and arbitration.
Mr Justice Budd raised another question referred to by the Law Reform Commission in its report on Family Courts should there be separate Family Law Courts? "This means that if you are seen near the courthouse on Thursday in a country town, you are known to have marital problems; you could be there for turbary rights or easements on other days!" he said.
He also suggested that, now that divorce is legal in Ireland, it might be time to separate the civil and religious marriage ceremonies.
"To my mind comes the happy scene in the French town or village as the bridal party walk from the Mairie [town hall], where the civil marriage has taken place, to the church for the religious ceremony. Should we perhaps consider this geographical emphasis on the distinction between the state law and church law when it comes to marriage? Particularly when the church of 92 per cent of the population does not permit remarriage in the lifetime of a spouse."
Mr Wood also appealed to the Government to make mediation a real option, rather than a sop to those opposed to divorce. "As a lay litigant and as a barrister, I've had experience of the confrontational and destructive nature of the involvement of the law in family breakdown," he said.
The present law required a solicitor to inform a client seeking a divorce of the availability of counselling and mediation, but this was just "an empty and formal gesture", he said. The Government should consider penalising, either financially or in some other way, those who refuse to try and sort out at least some of the issues before they come to court.
He also supported Mr Justice Budd's appeal for a reinterpretation of the in camera rule governing family law cases. While marital relations are a very private affair, "once a couple resort to the law they choose to submit their dispute to the ruling of a body which represents Irish society - the courts system", he said.
Mr Wood's and Mr O'Shea's book is published today by the O'Brien Press at £8.99. It explains marriage law in Ireland, the different treatment of marriages by different churches under the law and options for ending a marriage.