Transparency pilot in the Family Court extended

Last year we reported that a transparency pilot had been launched in three Family Courts (Leeds, Cardiff and Carlisle), to allow journalists to report on proceedings that once took place behind closed doors. The aim was to promote public confidence in the Family justice system and promote accountability.

The transparency pilot has been successful and has now been extended so that, subject to anonymity rules, media reporters and legal bloggers can now report on public and private Child Law proceedings in a further 16 Courts that were added to the pilot in January this year. These include the Courts of Dorset and Truro.

The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, said that “extending the reporting pilot to include private law in almost half of all Family Courts is another significant step in the judiciary’s ongoing work to increase transparency and improve public confidence in, and understanding of, the family justice system”.

Private law proceedings are disputes between parents to decide with whom their children should live and what time they should spend with each parent. Due to the lack of availability of legal aid for private law proceedings, it is most likely that one or both of the parents will not have legal representation.

Prior to this change in reporting restrictions, the media could report on cases only if a successful application was made for a transparency Order. However, the transparency pilot now dispenses with the need for an application and in the pilot Courts there is a presumption that an Order will be made.

The Courts that can report on public and private law cases under this extended transparency pilot are: Liverpool, Manchester, Carlisle, West Yorkshire, Kingston-upon-Hull, Nottingham, Stoke, Derby, Birmingham, the Central Family Court, East London, West London, Dorset, Truro, Luton, Guildford, Milton Keynes and Cardiff.

For any questions on this change to reporting restrictions and what effect it may have on you, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.