A failed revolution: Judicial case management of care proceedings

Focusing on care proceedings, this chapter examines the twenty-year history of attempts to change the operation of the family courts, outlining the mechanisms for judicial case management and the ways these have been supported and encouraged. Drawing on parallel experiences in civil justice, it reviews the effects of judicial case management and explores the cultural and practical barriers which have made it largely ineffective in care cases. Finally, it considers the changes necessary to ensure the completion of the majority of these cases within six months (26 weeks) as proposed by the Family Justice Review 2011).