Partnership in Practice: European Perspectives

• Author: Gabriela Misca,Janet Walker
• Published date: 01 July 2019
• Date: 01 July 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12432

SPECIAL ISSUE: FAMILY JUSTICE INNOVATIONS IN EUROPE

PARTNERSHIP IN PRACTICE: EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES

Janet Walker and Gabriela Misca

This special issue of FCR celebrates a partnership between the Association of Family and Con-

ciliation Courts (AFCC) and Relate, a major relationship support charity in England and Wales. It

also celebrates the growing membership of AFCC by family law professionals across Europe. For

many years, a relatively small number of family law professionals and academics in Europe were

members and followers of the AFCC family, acknowledging the benefits of sharing our ideas with a

wider community of like-minded colleague s worldwide. Over the last three years, we have wel-

comed a growing number of members, and, although we are not yet in a firm enough position to

form a European chapter, we are forging a unique identity under the informal banner of ‘AFCC

Europe.’During that time, we have held a number of prestigious events and meetings attended by

successive presidents of AFCC and Executive Director Peter Salem. Our enthusiasm stems from the

desire to share and develop new ideas and to learn from each other, despite coming from a number

of different legal systems and cultures, and speaking many different languages. It is partnership that

is driving our agenda, and the continued development of AFCC in Europe will depend heavily on

building strong partnerships.

In February 2018, AFCC partnered with Relate in England to hold a private consultation in the

beautiful surroundings of St George’s House on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Relate is the lead-

ing relationships charity in the UK, established some 80 years ago, and every year it helps over a

million people of all ages, backgrounds, and sexual orientations to strengthen their relations hips.

The services include relationship education, relationship counseling for individuals and couples,

family counseling, family mediation, children and young people’s counseling, and psychosexual

therapy. Relate’s vision is for a future in which healthy relationships are actively promoted as the

basis of a thriving society. Relate offers services throughout England and Wales; at the local level,

Relate provides a wide range of additional services, including couple therapy for depression,

domestic abuse support programs, and services in prisons to support family relationships affected

by imprisonment. In addition to providing face-to-face services, Relate also provides phone, email,

and online ‘Live Chat’counseling. Relate works closely with the media to champion the importance

of relationships in society, and with governments to ensure relationship support is kept at the heart

of public policy. Relate conducts research to determine how relationships are changing and make

recommendations on how government policy should respond.

AFCC and Relate share a passion for supporting family relationships and for modernizing family

justice to meet the needs of today’s families. AFCC and Relate have come together on several occa-

sions to further the work of AFCC in Europe and have partnered in the organization of a number of

promotional events, including a successful meeting in the House of Lords, Westminster, in 2016,

attended by a number of the most senior judges in England, politicians, lawyers, academics, and a

range of family law professionals. Having developed a reputation for high-profile events, in

February 2018 we were fortunate to be able to meet in a closed two-day session at Windsor.

Correspondence: g.misca@worc.ac.uk

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 57 No. 3, July 2019 294–300

© 2019 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts