[2] The matters considered by the court include those arising from marriage, divorce, financial payments following divorce, protection from domestic abuse and the risk of domestic abuse, child custody matters, adoption cases, cases surrounding artificial insemination, and the medical treatment of children.
[3] Legislation creates some obligations of the state to children, disputes involving such matters are dealt with by public family law.
The Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1958 required all divorcing parents to file a statement of arrangements for the upbringing of a child which a court approved.
[6]: 11 The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, LASPO, reduced funding for family courts.
[9]: 9 Legal aid is generally not available for decisions involving child arrangements, which leads to parents representing themselves in court.
[8]: 146 In research internationally, scholars express fear about the misuse of social science literature as evidence in trials.
Judges would try to keep up with social science research in general terms but would not introduce such evidence themselves to court relying on the advocates in the case to do so.
[10]: 194 In 2021, the President of the Family Division issued a memorandum regarding the criteria for use of expert witnesses citing Kennedy v Cordia (Services) LLP (Scotland).
The memorandum states that the court will refuse to accept evidence where the methodology is not based on established body of knowledge.