Court Fee Increase Could Make Family Law Courts Unfair

The Government has revealed plans to significantly increase court fees in Magistrates and County Courts, in some cases by as much as 650%.

After changes in recent years that have made it more difficult for clients to obtain legal aid to fund their court cases, this is another blow to the family court litigant who must fund his or her legal costs privately.

As an example, the court fee to apply for contact with a child could rise from
£120 to £175. However, perhaps of more concern is that a scheme is being considered to charge court users for judges' time and the use of the courtroom, something that is free to litigants at present. This could involve paying for the judges' time at more than £200 an hour.

As well as the obvious financial hardship to potential litigants, this will result in inequality in many cases. Those litigants who are in receipt of public funding (formerly Legal Aid) will have the court costs paid for them.

This is likely to lead to many people finding that they are unable to afford to access any form of family justice. This could have far-reaching effects upon families with many children being denied contact with their parents simply because they cannot afford to have their case heard by a judge.


These increases and new charges are merely proposals at present, but if implemented, it does bring into question the commitment of the Government
to the family in this country.

Their aim is to save the government £50 million.

Fortunately, these increases and new fees have not been introduced as yet.