Sir Paul Coleridge Tells Conference Current Legislation ‘Reflects The Distant Past’

A senior family law judge has called for changes to be made to legislation to ensure that it reflects current trends in society and not “the distant past”.

According to The Times, Sir Paul Coleridge told a conference at London that current measures governing family law were introduced in a different era “to deal with a different society” and a commission should be charged with reviewing the law.

The High Court judge, who set up the Marriage Foundation charity two years ago, added that “a root and branch overhaul” was desperately needed to ensure that family life in the 21st century was reflected by legislation.

Sir Paul’s comments have come after research by family law group Resolution found that 57 per cent of MPs felt that family law should be changed to provide better protection to unmarried, cohabiting couples.

A Law Commission report examined the issue several years ago but the Government chose not to act on any proposals made regarding reform.

Expert Opinion

Sir Paul’s speech is another sign that appetite for changing legislation in this area is continuing to grow. Cohabitation has become increasingly common, yet the law does not reflect this and often means couples do not have anywhere near the same level of protection as those who are married. <br/> <br/>“Through our work, we also see how many couples who are cohabiting are often simply unaware of the rights they do have. This is also undoubtedly also a growing issue, with figures showing that the number of marriages in England and Wales has fallen by around 20 per cent in the last ten years or so. <br/> <br/>“In many cases, the only way cohabiting couples can take steps to protect themselves is to prepare a cohabitation agreement to outline how they would like assets to be divided if their relationship does break down. <br/> <br/>“Sir Paul’s comments, the recent Resolution research and evidence provided by statistics have shown the time is right for a change in the law. We would urge the Government to act on this as soon as possible.”