Wider participation call

Press, 25 May 1977, Page 6

Wider participation call

More women and lay people should participate in the judicial processes, the National Council of Women told members of the Royal Commission on the Courts in Christchurch yesterday.

A convener on the women’s standing committee of the council (Mrs D. Horsman) said that her organisations would particularly like to see women Justices of the Peace in the Children and Young Persons Court, and in the proposed Family Court.

She said that the first woman magistrate had only been appointed recently. In reply, Mr Justice Beattie said’ that of the 75 persons admitted to the bar in Auck-

land recently, 25 were women.

Mrs Horsman said that “even after the promises of the last year or two about the equality of women, the latest list of J.P.s contains the names of only 24 women, of a total of 101.” There had been an unwillingness to use women J.P.s in such centres as Invercargill and Westland, she said. The council also supported the establishment of a family division of magistrate’s courts, Mrs Horsman said. Members wanted to see family courts separated from other courts, preferably in another building, and empowered to make decisions which could be enforced.

Submissions from the council said that in these courts there should be an understanding magistrate assisted by two others, one of whom should always be a woman.

Other submissions also supported the concept of a family court. Mr J. F. Burn said that the establishment of a family court should be encouraged, although its jurisdiction should be limited.

“The family court judge should deal only with matters which bear more closely on human relationships — separation, custody, paternity, adoption, divorce, matrimonial property, and family protection,” he said.