MATRIMONIAL DISPUTES

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 August 1935, Page 7

MATRIMONIAL DISPUTES

NEW COURT PROCEDURE.

[BRITISH OFFICIAL WIRELESS.)

RUGBY, August 7. A report has been issued by one of the Metropolitan magistrates, Mr Claud Mullins, upon the new procedure in hearing matrimonial disputes, which was introduced at the beginning or the year at the Southampton Police Court. The experiment has aroused considerable interest in circles concerned with legal and social reform, and the first seven months’ results are commented upon favourably in the Press.' The policy of the Court has been to see as far as possible the applicants tor separation orders, under summary procedure, and make them realise the consequences that would follow an order, and before a summons is issued, to facilitate interviews between the parties and the Courts’ probation officers, out of the Court, and in advanve of public hearings, and to humanise the proeedings so as to ensure the magistrates jjot to understand the real causes of each case of domestic misunderstanding. With the latter object, the hearings are generallyheld, not in the Police Court, but in the Magistrate’s consulting room. In tho first seven months, 220 summonses have been issued, of which 38 cases were settled out of Court, after interviews with probation officers, and seven after the hearing, following further talks with the probation officers. In 63 cases, where the proceedings were adjourned or interim orders granted, there were no further proceedings, while 23 cases were dismissed of the total of 220. 7 heretore, only 89 cases resulted in final orders for separation and/or maintenance. The report states that the Magistrate is satisfied no one is denied his or her legal rights under the procedure, while the hearings on the oldfashioned lines would certainly have resulted in a considerably greater number of final orders.