Press Reporting of Family Cases
On 15 July, the President of the Family Division’s Transparency Implementation Group Reporting Pilot (TIG) was extended to include private law as well as public law (mainly child protection) cases in the 16 courts that were added to the pilot in January 2024.
There is now a presumption that accredited media and legal bloggers may report on what they see and hear during family court cases, subject to strict rules of anonymity. The ability to report is being piloted to make sure it can be done safely and with minimum disruption to the court and to those involved in the cases. This will be done by judges in these courts making a ‘Transparency Order’, which sets out the rules on what can and cannot be reported.
The pilot started at the family courts in Leeds, Cardiff and Carlisle in January 2023. It has since been extended to include private law in those three courts, and public law in 16 more courts. Since then, there has been groundbreaking coverage of both public and private law cases, including a mini-series on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Press Association, the BBC News website, the Sunday Times, the Economist, the Guardian and the Observer, the Daily Mail and others. The aim of extending the Reporting Pilot to include private law, is to further explore the impact on the court system, the judges, those involved in family proceedings, and the media.
Both public and private law cases can now be reported on in the following courts:
In the Midlands, the relevant courts are Nottingham, Stoke, Derby and Birmingham.
Explaining the logic the President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane said:
"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.
"We hope that by extending the pilot further, we can continue to understand the impact that family court reporting has. I would like to thank all the judges and staff involved, as well as the journalists who have already engaged with the pilot and encourage them and their colleagues to keep reporting on the family courts and the vital public interest issues that they highlight."
Ian is the Senior Partner and Head of Family Law at SME Solicitors. Please contact him, Joanna Gardner or Denise McCabe for specialist help and advice in all aspects of family law, or call us on 01905 723561.
Added: 13 Aug 2024 10:52
Back To Blog