Family President calls on more judges to pilot settlement conferences

The President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby, has urged more judges to consider piloting settlement conferences in their area.

In a settlement conference a trained family judge adopts an inquisitorial approach in order to encourage cooperation between parties with a view to reaching an agreement that is in the children’s best interests.

These conferences are already taking place in a number of designated family judge areas. The pilots are supported by an ‘action research’ evaluation – led by social researchers in the Ministry of Justice – which had already identified important areas of learning for the pilot, Sir James said.

This had also informed the development of further training and guidance materials, which have been published this month.

The President said: “I know that opinions on settlement conferences are divided but, in my view, it is an approach that is worth piloting in order to inform decisions on whether to take them further.”

Adding that the pilot has his “full support”, Sir James said: “I am keen that we understand whether, and how, this approach can lead to appropriate outcomes for children and families in a less adversarial context. I would like to encourage judges to consider adopting the pilot in their areas using these training materials.

“The evaluation will continue during the pilot to seek the views and experiences of both judges as well as professional and lay parties. This will ensure lessons learnt and areas of good practice are shared and the settlement conference model is continually reviewed and improved.”