Petition · Ministry of Justice
Legally require judges to hear children aged 10+ in family court proceedings
Closed
47 signatures
What the petition asks
Legally require judges to speak directly to children implicated in family court proceedings from the age of 10 years and up, within a controlled Court Environment. We believe that children should be able to speak directly to the person who is making decisions about their future.
We feel that such decisions could have a negative impact on children and the law needs to change.
In our view, the Family Justice System is out dated and broken and children are being dragged through long winded procedures unnecessarily. Currently, they talk to various different organisations who could misinterpret situations and send reports into the court that are inaccurate. We think this muddies the water for the children and parents involved and may cause more harm than good. For too long now these children have not been heard properly and we think they are being failed by this system. It is time to put the children first.
In our view, the Family Justice System is out dated and broken and children are being dragged through long winded procedures unnecessarily. Currently, they talk to various different organisations who could misinterpret situations and send reports into the court that are inaccurate. We think this muddies the water for the children and parents involved and may cause more harm than good. For too long now these children have not been heard properly and we think they are being failed by this system. It is time to put the children first.
Timeline
| 4 Jun 2025 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 4 Dec 2025 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
47
Status
Closed
Department
Ministry of Justice
Opened
4 Jun 2025
Closed
4 Dec 2025
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 20 Aug 2026.