What work may a conciliation commissioner do in a family court case, and who may set that work in motion?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
The practice file to read here holds the record of the conciliation committee's mediation, showing whether the commissioner took part in it, any written request from the family court, the conciliation committee or the judge in charge of conciliation, and any note recording the commissioner's opinion or the views of persons connected with the dispute.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the two branches together: a conciliation commissioner takes part in the mediation conducted by the conciliation committee, and, on the request of the family court, the conciliation committee or the judge in charge of conciliation, may in other conciliation cases state an opinion grounded in professional knowledge or hear the views of persons connected with the dispute for the purpose of resolving it.
Another reading stresses that the second branch is written as work done 'on the request of' one of the three named bodies, so a commissioner who states an opinion or hears views in another case without such a request acts outside what this provision reaches, and the text does not say what form the request should take.
Your judgment
If a file records the commissioner's opinion but no request from any of the three named bodies, what else in the file could show who set that work in motion?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to add a body able to request the commissioner's work, or if a court decision explains when a conciliation commissioner's opinion counts as given on a proper request.