High Court judge to succeed Munby as Family Division president
Joe Lepper
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
A Court of Appeal judge is to replace Sir James Munby as England and Wales's most senior family court judge, the government has announced.
Sir Andrew McFarlane will take over as president of the Family Division following Munby's retirement in July.
He takes up the role having served as a Court of Appeal judge for the last seven years, where he has been the supervising lord justice for family cases.
McFarlane, who has been a barrister since 1977 and a High Court judge in the Family Division for the last three years, was a member of the 2011 Family Justice Review headed by David Norgrove, which recommended the introduction of a 26-week limit for completing family court cases.
"Her Majesty the Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of the Rt Hon Sir Andrew McFarlane as the president of the Family Division from 28 July 2018," a government statement said.
"He co-wrote Children Law and Practice which coincided with the enactment of the Children Act 1989 in 1991, and he has been noted for his speeches and lectures around the country on all aspects of child law."
McFarlane is currently among a raft of children's services, academic, charity and legal experts involved in a sector-led review into the rise in care applications and numbers of children being taken into care. This review launched last November and is due to report in the summer.
Munby, who is retiring after five years as president of the Family Division, is also among the experts involved in the review.
In 2016 he warned that the children in care system is facing a "crisis" due to the increase in the number of care applications.
Among his most high-profile rulings was in the case of Re B-S in 2013 in which he said that councils must provide evidence that all alternatives to adoption had been considered before bringing a case to court.
This ruling was subsequently blamed for a slump in the number of adoption placement orders.
In November 2017 Munby called for a major shake-up of the way courts hear cases involving children.
In a speech to the Howard League for Penal Reform, Munby said there was an urgent need to move to a system of "problem-solving" courts as the current system is not focusing enough on the welfare of children and families.
