A leading charity has called for Scotland’s “outdated” family law to be updated in an attempt to prevent children from being in the centre of bitter divorce battles and contests.
Relationships Scotland called for Scottish divorce law to keep up the rest of UK law in making it mandatory for couples to seek mediation before going through the court process. The charity believes that by introducing a law similar to the one seen in England and other parts of the UK, it will reduce the number of children involved in divorces and court action.
Calls for Scottish Law to Follow Rest of UK
Family law studies into the success of mediation show that family mediation is effective in helping separating couples and families with around 70% of mediation cases resulting in agreement.
In England and Wales separating couples must attempt some dispute resolution and meet with a mediator before going through divorce proceedings. According to some charity groups, by making some dispute resolution compulsory, it could encourage families to discuss and resolve disputes without a judge deciding for them. As well as this, the group stated that current awareness of the option to mediate is exceptionally low and by introducing mediation before a divorce, it could raise awareness of the process.
Stuart Valentine, chief executive of Relationships Scotland, called for an urgent debate on the topic stating that dispute resolution was vital to the success of families following a divorce. He said: “Parents often lose focus on their children as they battle with their ex-partner to determine who gets what, and who the children are going to live with.
“During a crisis or emotional meltdown, it’s not realistic to expect parents to research all their options. Making it a requirement to consider mediation before going to court is the way forward.
“Research shows that mediation is quicker, less costly and more effective than court action in helping divorcing and separating couples.
“Mediation helps parents make a decision to work together in the best interests of their children. We need to act now to help parents and families find their own solutions.”
The calls from charity groups such as Relationship Scotland has been backed up by the Justice Committee in Scotland who stated a report earlier that the legislation in Scotland was “showing its age” and that more cases could benefit from dispute resolution.
Despite a similar law being in place in the England and Wales, a report from the National Family Mediation group showed that the policy had largely been unsuccessful in England and Wales and that 95% of all divorces had ended by couples going straight to court rather than going through the mediation process. Only one in 20 separations had ended up being resolved through mediation since the introduction of the new family law process.
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