Bermuda has a backlog of up to 5,000 family law files in the Magistrates' Court and cases are too often not properly heard or determined, a seminar was told yesterday.

British judge Christopher Barnett QC revealed the figure — uncovered by a recent review of family law — at a judicial training workshop at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

Outlining the findings in the Justice for Families report, which was commissioned by the Law Reform Committee, he said the number indicated the "scale of the task we face" in overhauling the system.

Family law in Bermuda covers matters such as divorce, child custody and support and access arrangements.

"The review reveals that up to 50 percent of children will have direct experience of a family in dispute," said Mr. Barnett. "As to the backlog of cases, it is said there are over 4,000 open family law files in the Magistrates' Court alone."

Mr. Barnett said the Island's two family court magistrates, Juan Wolffe and Tyrone Chin, estimated the true figure to be closer to 5,000.

"This affects some 8,000 adults or ten percent of the population," said Mr. Barnett. "Why has this backlog of cases accumulated? These are some of the difficulties identified in the review and which we confront today."

The judge, who is leading the two-day seminar, said the review's key recommendation was that a dedicated court be created to deal with all family law cases, rather than have them heard in the Magistrates' Court and family division of the Supreme Court.

The focus of a unified family court, according to the review committee, should be mediation to try to bring about consensual agreement between parties. "This key recommendation would be capable of transforming the rate at which cases are concluded," said Mr. Barnett.

He told yesterday's audience: "We are not here to debate the need for change; the review reflects a consensus that change is necessary.

"The starting gun has already been fired. Our role now is to prepare for the implementation of the recommendations made."

He said some of the criticisms contained in Justice for Families would make "uncomfortable hearing" — including that family court proceedings are often protracted and that the conduct of cases can be overly confrontational.

Attorney General Kim Wilson told the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) conference: "Cabinet has endorsed the report as being an essential component to family law reform as we move toward implementation of some of the recommendations."

She said the traditional family unit had been transformed into "multiple variations" and it was necessary to evaluate whether the existing legal framework could handle the increasingly complex issues involved.

Chief Justice Richard Ground praised the JTI for holding the workshop and said it did its work on an "absolute shoestring". "There is no real budget for them and they have got no real budget for next year, I'm afraid," he said.

The Justice for Families review was commissioned in late 2007 and chaired by the Island's Senior Puisne Judge Norma Wade-Miller.