The Judiciary today launched the public consultation on the draft Family Procedure Bill.

The bill seeks to legislate for a consolidated set of procedural rules to enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the family justice system.

It aims to provide accessible and comprehensive procedural rules for the courts and all court users pursuant to the recommendations in the Judiciary's Final Report on the Review of Family Procedure Rules published in May 2015.

One of the key proposals to be implemented by the bill is the adoption of a single unified set of court procedural rules for all family and matrimonial proceedings across the Family Court and the High Court.

The bill will provide for the establishment of a new Family Procedure Rules Committee as the single rule-making authority for family-related court procedures.

It will also include a provision to empower the Family Court's registrar and masters of the court to handle certain procedural work on family-related proceedings to alleviate the heavy workload of the judges in the Family Court.

The consultation will end on April 13.

People may express views by emailing to family_procedure_bill@judiciary.hk.