PARENTS who file for divorce will now have to go through
mandatory counselling and mediation.
These steps have been implemented to help divorcing couples
understand the impact of their divorce on their children and to
help them focus on the well-being and welfare of their young ones,
instead of being fixated on their marital conflicts.
The Family Court will first implement the mandatory counselling
on families with younger children and gradually extend the
initiatives to more families.
These changes were announced by Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong on
Friday at the annual workplan of the Subordinate Courts. CJ Chan
also said that two courts - specialised community sentencing courts
and drug courts - will also be set up in the second quarter of
2011.
The specialised community sentencing courts will now have the
option to impose treatment orders to address the underlying causes
for offending behaviour.
The drug courts aim to speed up cases to avoid unnecessary delay
and cost for all drug users.
-- ST