The government will be proceeding with a special Family Court, Human Services Minister Priya Manickchand said on Wednesday.

According to Manickchand, the decision was made at Tuesday’s meeting of Cabinet.
The court will come under the jurisdiction of the High Court and will deal with all family-related disputes.  The Minister said that when considering several of the new laws that the government intends to institute, it was decided that the legal system will be better  served if it had its own court that dealt specifically with family matters.  It is the Minister’s opinion that the establishment of the court will also speed up the legal proceedings in family matters which often drag on for years.

Manickchand, however, was unable to say how soon this court would be set up. She explained that some time may be needed to get infrastructural aspects settled as well as to adequately train the staff. The Minister said that although ideally the court should be housed in a separate building, the main aim at present is to get the Court functioning as quickly as possible.

The minister made the announcement at the launching of a new dormitory for the Joshua House.