The family courts saw 68,805 new cases started between July and September 2020. This is similar to the same quarter in 2019.

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Justice, this was due to a combination of increases in private law (up eight percent), financial remedy (up five percent) and domestic violence remedy case starts (up 26 percent).

However, there were decreases in adoption (down 12 percent) and matrimonial case starts (down 10 percent).

There were 27,803 divorce petitions filed in July to September 2020. This represents a 10 percent decrease from the equivalent quarter in 2019. 22,097 de...