Independent Children’s Lawyer.

Hearing that an ICL has been appointed in your case can feel unsettling. It usually means the court sees your situation as serious or complicated enough that your child needs their own independent voice. That doesn’t necessarily mean anyone has done anything wrong, but it does mean the court wants someone looking at things purely from your child’s perspective.

Once appointed, the ICL reviews all the evidence, reads reports from psychologists or social workers (if there are any), and analyses what’s really going on. They might meet with your child depending on their age and what’s appropriate. Then they make submissions to the Court about what they believe serves your child’s best interests based on everything they’ve seen.

The ICL isn’t there to take sides with either parent. In fact, sometimes both parents disagree with what the ICL recommends. Their role is to cut through the parental conflict and focus solely on the child. If your case involves an ICL, it means the court is taking extra care to ensure decisions are made with your child’s wellbeing as the absolute priority, separate from what either parent is arguing for. It’s also important to know that an ICL isn’t bound by what your child tells them they want. Their job is to look at all the evidence and form an independent view about what’s actually best for them.