Access to Justice in the Family Court: an exploration of key issues and barriers to justice

Drawing on research conducted over a 2-year period, which ran prior to, during, and directly after the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2019-2021, this paper considers the impact of legal aid cuts for litigants in person (“LiPs”) in the family courts, and the extent to which the pandemic affected and exacerbated this impact. It outlines key factors that appear to have profound practical effects on access to justice for LiPs, drawn from focus group research with student legal companions, plus one-to-one interviews about experiences of supporting LiPs with the Sussex Law Clinic administrator. Key findings include the impacts of ‘legalese’ in court documents, and of imbalances of power between litigants, most particularly the impact for litigants who have suffered domestic abuse from the other party in the proceedings. Technical barriers, both in relation to technical knowledge and access to IT equipment, were especially acute during the pandemic when much went on-line and the libraries and courts shut, but these have become entrenched in some areas, with many Courts still operating a significant number of hearings online. The research also highlighted the practical barriers LiPs experience in having the necessary understanding of what documentation is relevant and important to support their case, and what is not. Literacy barriers (either if English is not their first language, or due to low literacy levels) have also been significant, and particularly exacerbated if hearings are online. Drawing on one of the author’s previous experience as a Legal Aid Family Lawyer, it is known that many of these issues were problematic before, and have been endemic for years, but they have become significant barriers for individuals seeking access to justice since the cuts to Legal Aid, and were further exacerbated by the consequences of the pandemic. The resultant practical, technical, and personal challenges causing significant and ongoing barriers to access to justice for many litigants.