Lawyers resist idea of special warrant for Family Court work
Lawyers working in the Family Court may need more training but no special warrant to practise should be necessary, the Chamber of Advocates say.
Reacting to a proposal made last week by Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano, Chamber president Andrew Borg Cardona said that if such "sectoral licences" were introduced, lawyers would be limited.
"A lawyer is a lawyer. If we start differentiating, we will have warrants for all areas of the law. We believe in training and specialisation but it is the market that should regulate who does what," he said.
The Chief Justice proposed that lawyers working in the Family Court should have a special warrant to ensure they were trained in mediation and could deal sensitively with cases such as separations and annulments, especially those involving children.
He said that, when such cases went to court, some lawyers made the situations worse by using "inflammatory language" or referring to the opposing party in uncomplimentary terms.
The Chamber of Advocates said it welcomed ongoing training and strengthening the process of mediation. It also conceded that within the profession there were individuals who did not achieve the high standards expected of them, as happened in all walks of life.
"However, as a matter of principle, the Chamber would resist the introduction of sectoral licences to practise by whatever name they are called."
Meanwhile, the Justice Minister said yesterday he agreed with the Chief Justice's comments on the need to re-examine the strengths and weaknesses of Malta's laws regarding marriage. Once proposals were made, they would be submitted for public consultation.
Speaking during the conference on the theme Empowering Families As Sustainable Partners In Social Policy, Carm Mifsud Bonnici underlined the need for the state to continue to support families in difficulty.
He referred to the introduction, six years ago, of mediation services for those who filed for separation and said that 91 per cent of couples who filed for separation had made use of the service.
Mediation helped 53 per cent of couples find an amicable solution to their problems and 11 per cent withdrew their application after participating in the mediation process.
Other states, he said, had reacted to marriage problems by introducing fast divorce proceedings where the dissolution was carried out administratively with no questions asked or any attempts at aiding the couples.
5 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
Jeremy Paul Bonnici
Mar 16th 2010, 09:12
About time!!!
Any lawyer working in the family court should get a special warrant after they get the appropriate training....
Most of the time (if not always) they (lawyers) make matters worst.
At least it has been mentioned.
Anthony Neil Pace
Mar 15th 2010, 13:48
I believe that some lawyers require Permission to take part in a Family Court Session.
I am speaking from experience when I say this, Children who are taken up to the Witness stand usually leave the court room battered and Hurt, just because a Lawyer was commanded by his/her client to open all the guns.
In this case, Rizzo is right. - Children DO NOT DESERVE TO BE TREATED AS ADULTS. In a Court of Law.
They are more sensitive, and less resilient than adults, and sometimes, The Children are treated as Criminals in a Civil Court, I know that this is Emotionally damaging and Unethical.
Please bring this system in, so that the psycological abuse is reduced.
victor caruana
Mar 15th 2010, 11:19
Yes, there should be updated specialised warrants for civil, criminal, business, international and family law. If I have a business dispute I do not do not want to get an insipid looking lawyer who is a jack of all trades.
The same applies to the medical profession.
Colette Berman
Mar 15th 2010, 10:50
Unfortunately, many lawyers ratchet the situation, turning a sad situation into worse heartache for all involved, especially the children. Some get pushed into such levels of vindictiveness that they could not reconcile even if they wanted to.
If no special training is going to be introduced for this field, perhaps more checks and balances should be introduced over the profession as a whole, with those lawyers needlessly pushing clients towards civil litigation (especially clients without a valid case, through sheer greed) should face some sort of responsibility and sanction for the grief they cause!
Anthony Neil Pace
Mar 15th 2010, 13:52
Agreed.