12 March 2012

Grave Constitutional Concerns Over Principal Family Court Judge Not Resigning

“The failure of Principal Family Court Judge Peter Boshier to stand down at the end of his eight-year term raises grave constitutional issues. How can a judge, whose duty it is to uphold the law, flagrantly ignore the law?” asks Bruce Tichbon, spokesperson for Families Apart Require Equality (FARE).

“The Family Courts Act states that Principle Family Court Judges can only serve for eight years without reappointment. Judge Boshier was appointed on 12 March 2004. Claims that he is exempt because he was appointed before the Act came into force simply do not wash.”

“At very least, the public are entitled to an explanation of this constitutional state of affairs, and some indication of when Judge Boshiers term will actually expire now that the law restricting him to an eight-year term is to be ignored. Are we seeing one law for officials and another law for the public?” asks Mr Tichbon.

“This comes at a time when the Family Court is embroiled in a major government review following a huge cost blowout and ongoing poor performance. One of the key origins of the problems lies in poor case management by Family Court Judges. Recent attempts by Judge Boshier to blame his clients are fatuous; he claims clients are using the Family Court as “a playground for their relationship warfare.” When will he take some responsibility rather than continually shifting the blame?”

“It is time for Judge Boshier to stand aside and let someone fresh do the work of guiding the Family Court through the government review,” concluded Tichbon.

ENDS

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