The Department of Finance in Northern Ireland is set to launch a consultation this autumn regarding reforms to family law. The consultation will include proposals for cases involving homicide and will also examine whether similar protections should be extended to other forms of serious offending.
Earlier this year, Finance Minister John O'Dowd committed to changing family law to automatically remove the parental responsibility of anyone convicted of murdering someone with whom they shared a child. A spokesperson for the Department of Finance confirmed Mr O'Dowd's commitment to developing legislation for "stronger protections for children and families."
A woman, identified as Lucy, whose ex-husband was convicted of possessing indecent images of children, is advocating for a change in Northern Ireland's laws. She believes parental responsibility should be stripped from individuals convicted of child-related sex offences, including those on the sex offenders register. Lucy is currently fighting her ex-husband's bid for supervised access to their child.
Geraldine Hanna, Commissioner for victims of crime, stated that courts have discretion in individual cases and expressed her belief that they should be given "all the powers they need" to address concerns on this issue. Safeguarding expert Marcella Leonard suggested that for those convicted of child-related sex offences, their "right to family life" and the child's right to a relationship with that parent should be explored by courts, but only after a "bespoke" process based on strict criteria, including specialist risk assessment and therapeutic interventions.
In England and Wales, Jade's Law automatically suspends parental responsibility for a parent convicted of murdering or committing voluntary manslaughter against a partner or ex-partner with whom they share children. However, this law does not apply in Northern Ireland.