Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyse whether the adversarial system in the Family Court is capable of delivering justice to the people who come to that court. It does that by identifying key issues within the family justice system. It continues with an analysis of the role of the family court and lawyers in administering justice. The article argues that the adversarial nature of the traditional legal pathway fails to adequately address family disputes and therefore leads to a miscarriage of justice. It then continues to make a case for court-mandated mediation within the family justice system. The main conclusion reached is that the family court as it is currently structured is ill-equipped to deal with complex family issues, and that it is time court-mandated mediation is introduced as mediation to deliver justice expeditiously.