Comment: | McKenzie Friends is not an organisation, but a colloquial term used to describe someone who assists a litigant in person in court. A McKenzie Friend does not represent the litigant and does not have rights of audience. The function of a McKenzie Friend is to take notes for the litigant, act as his / her witness to proceedings, organise papers, and quietly profer advice.
McKenzie Friends have no official legal status: they have no particular right to sit next to you in court, and the name is not an official one. But you, as a defendant, have a right to whatever assistance may be reasonably required, and that's the basis for allowing McKenzie Friends. The name comes from a particular case, McKenzie v McKenzie,1970 (or '71?), which was a divorce case.
For example, Children and Parents After Divorce (CAPAD) acts as Mackenzie Friends in court for people seeking contact orders to see their children, and it also used in debt cases.
The legal debate over whether a McKenzie Friend is a right or a privelege goes on - some courts refuse to allow them, but that can lead to appeals. |
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