Powers of the civil judge: some considerations regarding the family judge

Abstract

The author undertakes the problem of giving ex-officio powers, both substantive and procedural, to the family judge, in the light of the current Family Courts legislation. As well as presenting the predicament scholars have put forward regarding the alleged lost of impartiality of the judge in those cases when it is himself who puts forward evidence, the author indicates which are the bases for such powers in a family law context. In doing so, the author makes a dogmatic exam of the substantive powers of the family judge, and later propounds an interpretation of the legal norms according to certain guarantees ensuring the presence of an impartial judge as part of the fundamental right to a due process.