Get divorce out of the courts

A recent B.C divorce case got so ugly that the judge dumped the couple.

In the decision, Judge Bryce Dyer orders the couple not only to work on their compromising skills, but to stay out of court for the foreseeable future. 

There is to be a minimum two years' peace between these two parents during which they can practise their compromising skills.... The litigation process is not to be used by one to either bully or seek control over the other.- Justice Bryce Dyer

It's a decision John-Paul Boyd welcomes. 

Boyd, a former family lawyer, leads the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family and says we'd all be better off if we took divorce out of the courts.

He says Canada's court system is predicated on conflict.

"It's a system that is based on conflict and conflict is what it results in," he says. 

Boyd says arbitration, mediation, and collaborative settlement processes are much better options for families who find themselves in a divorce. 

And, he adds, the legal system would be better for it. 

The system as a whole would breathe an enormous sigh of relief.- John-Paul Boyd

Click on the play button above to listen to John-Paul Boyd's full interview with guest host Jason Proctor.