Family Court addressing mandate- Justice Kurtzious
-520 matters received
The Family Court celebrated its first anniversary on Tuesday, holding as its mission, to provide the required support services to the judiciary in dealing with disputes. This is according to the 2016 Family Court Yearly Report.
According to the report, there were 520 family matters referred to the court during the year. In 176 of these cases, Interim/Nisi orders were granted, 18 were withdrawn, eight struck out and 81 concluded. Left pending were 237 cases.
Before the commissioning of its spanking new building last year, family court hearings were conducted in the Chambers of the various judges hearing such matters.
Today, however, the court has its own space, occupying the eastern block in the compound of the Georgetown Supreme Court of Judicature.
But more importantly, the court has assigned to it, its own judges, as well as a registry and staff which caters to its clerical and administrative needs.
In an interview yesterday with the Stabroek News, Acting Chief Justice Roxane George, explained that as a “special court,” the Family Court is able to dispense with family matters and not have to be burdened by matters outside this branch of law.
This, the Chief Justice said, directly addresses case backlog issues as the Family Court judges can now focus on this category of matters, as opposed to having been periodically rotated to deal with matters across all branches of law.
Though two judges ordinarily sit in the Family Court, the CJ pointed out that currently, Justice Sandra Kurtzious is the only sitting judge hearing family matters.
Just recently, Justice Dawn Gregory, the other Family Court judge, was appointed to the Court of Appeal. The Chief Justice explained that as a result, appointments will soon be made to fill the void.
Asked what the Family Court can point to in terms of achievements after one year of existence, Justice Kurtzious, to whom this newspaper also spoke, said that its introduction has changed the landscape in addressing the needs of the family, to the extent that family court judges can now deal directly with family matters.
With specific reference to matters being heard in Georgetown, the judge noted that under the new dispensation, litigants remain before the one particular judge hearing their matter, from beginning to end.
She explained that the matter remains with that judge who has already become familiar with the case, and continues to hear it to the end.
The court also boasts what is called a Directions Hearing Room which is more of an informal conference sitting, as opposed to the adversarial layout of the courtroom in which trials are conducted.
Justice Kurtzious explained that as a preliminary step to hearing petitions such as divorce, the court seeks to foster dialogue in the directions hearing room, with the aim of promoting communication between husband and wife.
She said that it is here that feelings are vented between the parties, in the presence of judge and counsel for both sides. She noted that there have been instances where, after these discussions, parties were able to reconcile their differences, and maybe opted to not even pursue litigation.
She said that sometimes, all that may be required, is communication between the parties, and in so facilitating this, the court would be happy to mend relationships before the parties leave, especially geared towards “what is in the best interest of the child,” if children are involved.
She said that where such a need may arise, the directions hearing room also facilitates interactions between the court and children alone, as well as relations with parents and children.
These observations, the judge said, can then better equip the court in making particular determinations in a case. She said that a special court such as the family court provides guidance for the parties.
The directions hearing room into which this newspaper was invited, creates a more relaxed environment, as opposed to the courtroom and it is this atmosphere the judge said, that allows for a certain level of comfort between the parties, to say how they feel.
The judge in the same vein, however, cautioned