The Family Justice Council (FJC), a monitoring body which also works to improve the family justice system, has opened its next meeting to the public.

The Council advises on reforms inside the family courts and is headed up by the President of the Family Division, Andrew McFarlane.

Its membership is made up of “appointed” members, “ex-officio” members and “executive committee” members, and includes lawyers, social workers, medical professionals and judges. The Council can also launch Working Groups to investigate specific areas within the family justice system, and currently has six Working Groups.

The next meeting, which takes place in October, will be held online. The Council has invited members of the public to attend to see how the body works first hand, and will include a Q&A session.

The announcement on the Judiciary’s website says that places will be allocated “to try to ensure a diverse, representative audience.”

That though may not be possible, as the Council will be using MS Teams software to host the meeting. If you’re considering attending, let us know if this might be an issue for you, and we will pass your feedback on to the FJC.

The meeting will be held on 19 October 2020, from 11.00am until 2.00pm. Anyone wishing to attend can apply for a place by filling out the form on this page. The deadline for submitting requests to attend is noon, on 14 September 2020.