Doriemus- amusing case names

Doriemus- amusing case names

Well it had to happen…

When the Family Law Act was enacted, one of the key changes was to have secrecy provisions. This was because one of the staples of the media before its enactment were articles about the latest divorce drama.

The new s.121 of the Family Law Act provided that court proceedings were open to the public, but with some limited exceptions, there could not be publication of people’s identities.

One of those exceptions was for the use of lawyers in law reports. Lawyers were therefore able to rely on the names of cases when they argued matters in court.

Then came the rise and rise of the internet, and the decision of the Family Court and the Federal Magistrates Court to publish decisions online. Of course one of the features of publishing online is that anyone can look at the decisions.

The Family Court still reported its significant decisions by name, but the Federal Magistrates Court did so by letter, so that soon we had numerous decisions such as C v. C.

Talk about confusing! There was nothing to distinguish the name of one C v C against another, aside from the citation. Even more confusing for counsel and judges- some judges wanted to refer to the case names, as opposed to the initials!

So now the Family Law Courts are often resorting to pseudonyms. At least this helps preserve the anonymity of the litigants, and enables judges and lawyers to rely on recognised case names.

However, if we are going to rely on good case names, at least we might have amusing ones!

Several that have struck my fancy are : Vanderhum Doriemus, named after the two legendary racehorses, and Wenceslas and DOCS, named after the Christmas carol, and Wilde and Clives .

Things to Read, Watch & Listen

Forced Marriage

On November 1st 2023, Accredited Family Law Specialist and Page Provan Director Stephen Page presented a paper at the Brisbane Zonta Club about forced marriage. I acknowledge the Jagera and Turrbal peoples, on whose lands we meet today, their elders, past, present and emerging. Ruqia Hidari was aged 21 and living in Victoria, when, according to police,… Read More »Forced Marriage

ACT Government Surrogacy Bill

The ACT Government has today introduced a bill to amend the ACT’s surrogacy laws. The proposed changes are more incremental than fundamental. They include allowing a single person to undertake surrogacy, for the surrogate to be single if needed, a requirement for legal advice and counselling beforehand, a written agreement being required, that traditional surrogacy is… Read More »ACT Government Surrogacy Bill

Planning to resolve: ADR in ART

ADR can help resolve disputes in ART cases. ADR is not limited to mediation and arbitration. Other types of informal dispute resolution can resolve disputes. When assisted reproductive treatment cases go off the rails, they can have the next level of bitterness and volatility. There can be a keen sense of betrayal when things don’t… Read More »Planning to resolve: ADR in ART

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