Session 09.2 Perfecting the family court and what's even better! A blueprint for parental separation and family courts.
Tracks
Track 2: Room LG18
| Wednesday, July 30, 2025 |
| 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM |
| LG18 - The David Li Kwok Po Lecture Theatre |
Overview
Panel Session
by the Law and Justice Advisory Board of the Two Wishes Foundation
Moderator: Philip Marcus, Judge (retired), Israel
Panellists:
- Judge Marie-France Carlier, Belgium
- Judge (retired) Bruce Cohen, Arizona, USA
- Judge Daisuke Ikuta, Japan
- Judge Jose Barros, Portugal
- Judge (retired) Mauricio Luis Mizrahi, Argentina
- Judge (retired) Roshan Dalvi, India
- Magistrate Gabriela McKellar, South Africa
Details
Senior judges and other professionals around the world have recognized that confrontational court proceedings between parents may endanger children, and that some court processes are so flawed as to cause serious emotional harm; such harm constitutes a worldwide public mental health crisis.
In order to prioritize the long-term wellbeing of children and their families, our systems need to ensure that parents can avoid, or at least reduce, conflict.
The Law and Justice Advisory Board of the Two Wishes Foundation is comprised of Family Court Judges, retired and active, from many countries around the world. The Advisory Board has developed a BLUEPRINT FOR PARENTAL SEPARATION AND FAMILY COURTS.
Family Court systems in some places operate reasonably well, and others urgently need improvement. But a better result for children can usually be achieved by avoiding legal proceedings. While advocating for the incorporation of proven child protective features into family courts throughout the world, subject to local cultural differences, we believe that such courts need to be better integrated into a more holistic system that treats family separation primarily as a health and relationship issue and puts greater emphasis and resources into earlier interventions and education.
Participants at the World Congress will learn about the processes which best take account of the needs of children, and how to adopt them into the systems in their countries and states.
The first and foremost part of the Blueprint is about Diversion. We hold that parents who are separating should have ready access to child-oriented counselling, conciliation and mediation professionals, to ensure that their separation process will take full account of the effect on each child. Enabling and empowering parents to reach agreements on arrangements which will protect their children and ensure their healthy development, without recourse to the family court, will reduce stress and the harms caused by confrontational behaviours.
For those cases in which parents are unable to reach agreement, or where application to the court is unavoidable, the Blueprint draws on examples from court systems, from around the globe, which are best adapted to the needs of children and prevention of harm. The Advisory Board has identified the categories of processes which optimize the handling of cases involving children, by taking account of human behaviours and vulnerability in times of transition and stress, and a child's perception of time. These vital components of the family court system include diversion, specialization of courts and judges, judicial continuity, triage, swift handling by the court, multidisciplinary processes, selection and appointment of appropriate experts, child involvement, enforcement of decisions, collection of data about processes and outcomes, and others.
The presentation, by a panel of judges who are members of the Advisory Board, from Civil Law, Common Law, Asian Law and mixed systems, will include specific recommendations for the essential components of a more perfect court system. These include proposals for dealing, as speedily and humanely as possible, with separation where children are involved and recommendations as to how to introduce changes in existing systems.
In order to prioritize the long-term wellbeing of children and their families, our systems need to ensure that parents can avoid, or at least reduce, conflict.
The Law and Justice Advisory Board of the Two Wishes Foundation is comprised of Family Court Judges, retired and active, from many countries around the world. The Advisory Board has developed a BLUEPRINT FOR PARENTAL SEPARATION AND FAMILY COURTS.
Family Court systems in some places operate reasonably well, and others urgently need improvement. But a better result for children can usually be achieved by avoiding legal proceedings. While advocating for the incorporation of proven child protective features into family courts throughout the world, subject to local cultural differences, we believe that such courts need to be better integrated into a more holistic system that treats family separation primarily as a health and relationship issue and puts greater emphasis and resources into earlier interventions and education.
Participants at the World Congress will learn about the processes which best take account of the needs of children, and how to adopt them into the systems in their countries and states.
The first and foremost part of the Blueprint is about Diversion. We hold that parents who are separating should have ready access to child-oriented counselling, conciliation and mediation professionals, to ensure that their separation process will take full account of the effect on each child. Enabling and empowering parents to reach agreements on arrangements which will protect their children and ensure their healthy development, without recourse to the family court, will reduce stress and the harms caused by confrontational behaviours.
For those cases in which parents are unable to reach agreement, or where application to the court is unavoidable, the Blueprint draws on examples from court systems, from around the globe, which are best adapted to the needs of children and prevention of harm. The Advisory Board has identified the categories of processes which optimize the handling of cases involving children, by taking account of human behaviours and vulnerability in times of transition and stress, and a child's perception of time. These vital components of the family court system include diversion, specialization of courts and judges, judicial continuity, triage, swift handling by the court, multidisciplinary processes, selection and appointment of appropriate experts, child involvement, enforcement of decisions, collection of data about processes and outcomes, and others.
The presentation, by a panel of judges who are members of the Advisory Board, from Civil Law, Common Law, Asian Law and mixed systems, will include specific recommendations for the essential components of a more perfect court system. These include proposals for dealing, as speedily and humanely as possible, with separation where children are involved and recommendations as to how to introduce changes in existing systems.
Speaker
Judge Philip Marcus
Retired Family Court Judge
Independent researcher
Session 09.2 Perfecting the family court and what's even better! A blueprint for parental separation and family courts.
Biography
PHILIP MARCUS, LL.M
Judge (retired), Jerusalem Family Court, Israel
Philip Marcus was born and educated in England. After obtaining his LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) degree at University College London, and qualifying as a Solicitor, he moved to Jerusalem in 1978. He was admitted as an Advocate at the Israel Bar in 1979, and from then until his appointment as a Judge of the Jerusalem Magistrates Court in 1995, he was in private practice.
He obtained his LL.M (Master of Laws) degree at Haifa University. He retired from the bench in 2012.
He has lectured on five continents and his articles and his papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
He is consulted by governments and organizations around the world about family law and family court system reform, therapeutic jurisprudence, and prevention and handling of child psychological maltreatment.
He is co-chair of the Two Wishes Law and Justice Advisory Board
philipmarcusjurist@gmail.com
+972 544455703
Mrs Marie-France Carlier
Juge de la Famille et de la Jeunesse
Two Wishes
Session 09.2 Perfecting the family court and what's even better! A blueprint for parental separation and family courts
Biography
Marie-France CARLIER was appointed judge at the Court of First Instance of Dinant, Belgium, on February 12, 2003. She became a juvenile court judge in October 2007 and practices both family law and juvenile law. She implemented the parental consensus model there in 2012.
Judge (ret.) Bruce Cohen
Retired Judge
Two Wishes International And National Center For State Courts
Session 09.2 Perfecting the family court and what's even better! A blueprint for parental separation and family courts
Biography
Bruce Cohen was appointed as a Superior Court Judge to the Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix Arizona in May, 2005. Prior to his appointment, Judge Cohen practiced family law for 24 years, was a certified specialist in Family Law and served on the Family Law Board of Legal Specialization for the State Bar of Arizona, as well as the Family Law Executive Council for the State Bar of Arizona. He was a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and was named annually to the Martindale Hubbell Preeminent Lawyers in America.
With the National Conference for State Courts and Arizona State University, he developed the Families In Transition Program (“FIT”). Funded by the State Justice Initiative, FIT is a computer-based interactive program designed for early intervention in cases where there is risk of the family becoming engaged in high-conflict parenting. He also served as the national co-chair for the Family Law Workgroup of the National Judicial Task Force on Mental Health and the Courts, which developed an “Understanding Series” regarding mental health issues in family court proceedings and is published on the NCSC website.
Judge Daisuke Ikuta
Session 09.2 Perfecting the family court and what's even better! A blueprint for parental separation and family courts
Biography
Daisuke IKUTA became an assistant judge in Japan in 2012. He heard civil, criminal and family-related cases at district courts and family courts. He was appointed as a judge of Tokyo District Court in 2022 and was assigned as a staff attorney of the Family Bureau, General Secretariat, Supreme Court of Japan. Now he is a judge at Nagoya District Court. He has JD (University of Tokyo), LL.M (University of Bristol) and LL.M (University College London).
Judge Jose Barros
Session 09.2 Perfecting the family court and what's even better! A blueprint for parental separation and family courts
Biography
Jose Barros has been judge for 12 years, 4 of those in family courts, plus 5 of them in civil and family court. He has written two articles in law reviews, on Residential Care and on the Impact of Covid on Family Law. He teaches post-graduate classes on family law from time to time.
Judge Mauricio Luis Mizrahi
Session 09.2 Perfecting the family court and what's even better! A blueprint for parental separation and family courts
Biography
Former National Judge of the Court of Appeals of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Doctor of Law and Social Sciences. Former Full Professor at the University of Buenos Aires. Author of numerous legal books. First Prize from the National Academy of Law of Buenos Aires for the best legal work.
