Litigation between warring spouses can turn family law into “lawfare”, as one judge put it, when one party seems intent on pursuing the other at all costs. He was legally represented for his unsuccessful Supreme Court appeal earlier this month, which resulted in another costs order against him. Last week, a five-judge Supreme Court unanimously upheld an order restricting the man from bringing further family law litigation against the woman without court permission. In the wake of the court’s decision, lawyer Keith Walsh, a family law solicitor and chair of the Law Society’s Family and Child Law Committee, said the huge number of family law and childcare cases before the courts means the system is under continuing stress. He hoped the new Family Courts Act, expected to be implemented in its first phase in 2027, may also address some of the issues associated with protracted litigation, Walsh said.

Source: The Irish Times February 01, 2026 07:36 UTC