Supreme Court Judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday said family disputes occupy a very different space in the justice system, as they rarely end with a decree and parties, especially where children are involved, may have to appear before courts repeatedly.Delivering the valedictory address at the Eastern Zone Regional Conference on ‘ADR vs Adjudication in Family Disputes: Challenges and Way Forward’ here, he said adjudication has an important and irreplaceable place and cannot be replaced, particularly where there are allegations of violence, coercion or serious wrongdoing.
“Family disputes occupy a very different space in the justice system. A dispute between two commercial entities may come to an end with a decree or an award, and the parties may thereafter go their separate ways. Family disputes are rarely so simple, particularly where there are children,” Justice Bhuyan said. Questions of custody, visitation, maintenance and education may bring parties before the court repeatedly, he said.
“What may appear on the record as a petition for divorce or a custody application is often the final stage of a much longer personal conflict. By the time the matter reaches the court, there may already have been years of disagreement, disappointment and mistrust,” Justice Bhuyan said. He said that adjudication has an important and irreplaceable place in the justice system and cannot be replaced.
“There are also situations where protection of the court is essential, particularly where there are allegations of violence, coercion or serious wrongdoing. In such cases, court adjudication cannot simply be replaced by an expectation that parties will compromise,” the apex court judge said.However, experience teaches that not every family dispute is best resolved by a judgment, he added.
“A court may decide where a child will live, but the parents will still have to decide and work out how they will communicate about the child’s education, health and future. A court may determine maintenance, but the parties will still have to deal with one another for many more years,” Justice Bhuyan said.
These continuing relationships make family disputes different from many other forms of litigation and give particular importance to mediation, he added.
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