The Lord Chancellor recently asked the Ancillary Relief Advisory Group to look at possible reforms to the law o n maintenance and capital provision on divorce.The Ancillary Relief Advisory Group grew from the Ancillary Relief Working Party which has been advising the Lord Chancellor's Department on the ancillary relief pilot projects which are still on-going.

The Ancillary Relief Advisory Group's terms of reference are to advise the Lord Chancellor on all aspects of ancillary relief, including any issues which may arise concerning the substantive law.

The group draws its membership from solicitors, the Bar, the judiciary and academics.The Lord Chancellor has recently directed the group to consider whether the provisions on maintenance and capital provision currently contained in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 should be amended.

The government appears to be particularly interested in whether the system in Scotland provided for by the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985 should also be applied here.

The group has been asked to consider whether the law should be amended to provide that:(a) Issues surrounding children are paramount and must be settled before any other issues are considered;(b) The question of spousal maintenance will be considered second;(c) Where there is no pre (or post) nuptial agreement the remaining property will be split 50/50 between the parties unless:-- the court considers the conduct of either or both parties makes such a split unfair;-- such a split would do substantial injustice to one of the parties or to a child of the marriage;-- there is some other reason of a substantial kind why such a split should not be enforced.Pre (and/or post) nuptial agreements should be legally binding upon the parties and the court unless:(a) Children have been born following the making of the agreement;(b) There is evidence that the agreement was signed under duress;(c) All or both of the parties failed to receive independent legal advice prior to the making of the agreement;(d) The court considers the conduct of one or both parties makes the terms of the agreement unfair;(e) Implementation of the terms of the agreement would do substantial injustice to one of the parties or to a child of the marriage;(f) There is some other reason of a substantial kind why the agreement should not be enforced.The group is also asked for its views in general on the workings of the system in Scotland and more specifically as to whether:(a) The Scottish definition of matrimonial property in s.10(4) of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985 should be adopted in England and Wales;(b) The principles in s.9 of the Act and the guidance on those principles given in s.11 of the Act should be reproduced in England and Wales, given that to do so would undermine the principle of limiting the amount of discretion given to the courts as set out above;(c) The presumption that 'fair' means equal is reasonable.The group is also asked for its views as to what other, if any, reforms should be made to s.25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.The timetable provided by the Ancillary Relief Advisory Group for producing its report is extremely brief as the Lord Chancellor has asked for a final report from the group by the end of July 1998.

To date the government has given no indication that the Law Commission will be involved in this review or that there will be any public consultation on the reform of the law.

The Law Society's Family Law Committee will be producing a submission on this subject, copies of which will be available on request.In order to assist the committee in putting forward the profession's views, practitioners are invited to p ut forward their views in writing on whether the proposed reforms should be supported.

It would also greatly assist if practitioners with knowledge of the operation of the Scottish system could make their experiences known.Comments on the proposed reforms of the law or the operation of the Scottish system should be sent to Jane Leigh, Secretary to the Law Society's family law committee, Policy Directorate, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL (DX 56 London/Chancery Lane).