Article by Sonny Patel and Min Joo Yoon published in the Financial Remedies Journal

Justice That Heals — What England Can Learn from Singapore’s Therapeutic Approach to Family Law

In their article Justice That Heals: Lessons from Singapore’s Family Justice System, Sonny Patel and Min Joo Yoon argue that England’s Financial Remedies Court could benefit from adopting aspects of Singapore’s Therapeutic Justice (TJ) model.

They explain how, since 2020, the Family Justice Courts (Singapore) have embedded TJ into practice — emphasising psychological and emotional well-being, collaboration, and long-term family welfare over adversarial conflict.

Under TJ, judges, lawyers, mediators and other professionals work together alongside the parties to reach timely, constructive and sustainable solutions, reducing the trauma often caused by high-conflict divorce.

The authors suggest that as England already moves toward non-court dispute resolution (NCDR), no-fault divorce and more family-centric financial remedy processes, now may be the time to rethink courts as “problem-solving environments” — not battlegrounds.

Their conclusion: incorporating therapeutic principles won’t eliminate the need for robust adjudication — but could transform how courts serve families, helping them emerge from divorce with dignity, stability and a foundation for the future.

Read the full article on The Financial Remedies Journal website.