This petition was submitted during the 2015-2017 parliament
Rejected petition A call for sanctions in family courts for perjury
False allegations of domestic violence and child abuse are used in the family courts on a regular basis across the UK by resident parents in order to manipulate the outcome of child contact and residence applications. Judgments are made with no consequence to the accuser committing perjury
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Most people believe they are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law if they were accused of domestic violence or child abuse given they are criminal offences. However, this principle does not apply in the family court. Just about any wild allegation can be made without any proof and under this system perjury almost always goes unpunished ruining victims lives.
This is a concern for families who have become a victim of a system that does not sanction accusers for serious acts of perjury
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
We're not sure what action you would like the Government or Parliament to take.
Perjury is an offence under the Perjury Act 1911. The offence is committed where a witness under oath willfully makes a material statement in a judicial proceeding which they know to be false or do not believe to be true. It is punishable by a maximum of seven years imprisonment, or a fine, or both a fine and imprisonment.
The current law on perjury already applies to evidence given in family proceedings.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.