more private, less intimidating forum for family-oriented cases.

"It will not deal with all family matters but only some. Above all it will not deal with divorce and the ancillary matters arising on a divorce,'' Chief Justice the Hon. Mr. Justice Ward said at the opening.

He added: "But it will deal with matters of maintenance, custody, access and the protection of children.'' Mr. Ward also said that the court, which is situated on the ground floor of the Government Administration Building, will also have a social worker attached to it through the Department of Child and Family Services.

"The court will also be available to sit five days a week when required as opposed to the old practice of sitting on Wednesdays only,'' Mr. Ward said.

He added: "The mission of the Office of Family and Child Support is to ensure that appropriate financial provision is secured for children from their parents.

"It is my hope, however, that in the years to come the Court will evolve into having a higher mission, namely, a mission to keep families together so far as is humanly possible, and to that end, I hope that in the not too distant future, a mediation service will be attached to the court so that we shall place as much emphasis on preserving family units as we do on the other aspects of our work.'' Mr. Ward also said that the judiciary thanked the many people who helped to conceptualise, design and finish this project.

"They came from many quarters, from the Minister and the staff of the Ministry of Works and Engineering who were so understanding of our needs, to the Bar, and from within our own department,'' Mr. Ward said.

And he also thanked the Minister and officers of the Wesley Methodist Church for allowing the Court to use their facilities for more than a decade.

Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan was on hand to open the facility and said that because family court cases are held in private, they tend not to cause a big stir in the community.

"Yet, since children and the family unit are involved, this aspect of the business of the judiciary has great importance in the functioning of the community,'' Sir John said.

He added: "It is an aspect of the judiciary's business which is growing. The number of applications for support rose from 335 in 1992 to 376 in 1994, and increase of over 12 percent in the space of two years.

"Many of us have a very strong feeling that despite our material wealth, the old Bermuda was a better place than it is now -- we have loss something in the process of becoming successful. And many of us feel that the breakdown of the family unit has much to do with what is wrong with society today.'' Sir John also said that the Government realises they must do all they can to encourage strong family ties.

"And I believe the opening of this new Family Court is a symbol of our understanding and our commitment to doing all we can to help,'' Sir John said.

He added: "This physical facility has been designed to be less formal and less intimidating than the criminal courts, in keeping with the sensitive and delicate nature of the court's business.

"Additional staffing has already had an effect. The average length of time it takes to hear a Family Court case has dropped from six months to less than two months, as I understand it. Most of the business of the court is with matters of the heart, in which delay can create great emotional pain.'' Minister of Health Social Services and Housing the Hon. Mr. Quinton Edness said the need for a separate court to resolve family disputes was great.

"We have been attempting to have a Family Court established since 1982 primarily to remove the resolution of family matters away from the intimidation of the court to a physical plant that would provide an atmosphere more conducive to resolving family and juvenile matters,'' Mr. Edness said.

He added: "These facilities represent a good beginning however, we should be mindful of the fact that much more has to be done before we reach all of the objectives that a family court should provide to the community.'' Mr. Edness also said that some of those objectives are to reduce delay and inconvenience to the public in the resolution of family disputes, eliminate delays and expense to the parties.

To provide for more efficient and economic use of community social resources in the resolution of family disputes, and to develop a group of judges who are specialists in dealing with all kinds of family problems.

The Family Court will be presided over by Magistrate the Wor. Edward King and 18 special court panel members, who will rotate doing panel duty.

ALL IN THE FAMILY -- The Premier, the Hon. Sir Joh Swan (left) and Chief Justice the Hon. Mr. Justice Ward, seen opening the new Family Court yesterday.