Closed petition The Family Court system should recognise Parental Alienation and the Practice Directions need to be changed to mitigate problems in the current system

Closed on 24 April 2013

1.The UK Family Courts should recognise Parental Alienation as a real problem.
2.Where Judges suspect that one parent is implacably hostile to contact, they must appoint a specialist family psychologist or psychiatrist to report back in one month. The fees should be met by the parents or by the Government if the parents cannot afford it.
3.Contact/residence cases should last no more than 6 months.
4.Parenting classes should be compulsory in contact/residence cases.
5.To improve judicial continuity the case should be reserved to the Judge who sits at the First Directions Hearing.
6.Where the Defendant in a Contact Case opposes contact and the Court grants contact, or the Petitioner in a Contact Case is proven to be a risk to the children and the Court denies contact, they should make restitution to the Government for the costs incurred for the Guardian Ad Litem.
7.All Judges, CAFCASS and other caseworkers should undertake a distance learning course on parental alienation.