Last updated on August 21st, 2024 at 01:11 pm
Bradie Pell
Launched in January 2023 in Leeds, Cardiff and Carlisle, the pilot was introduced to allow accredited media and legal bloggers to report what they hear and see in public law family court cases and was then extended to cover private law cases in May 2023.
A further 16 courts were added to the pilot January 2024, covering public law cases only. This has now been extended to cover private law cases in these 16 additional courts as well as the original three. The 16 additional courts are:
- Derby
- West Yorkshire
- Kingston-upon-Hull
- Nottingham
- Manchester
- Liverpool
- Stoke
- Birmingham
- Central Family Court (London)
- East London
- West London
- Luton
- Guildford
- Milton Keynes
- Dorset
- Truro
The pilot is intended to ensure that reporting can be done safely and with minimum disruption to all involved.
Reporting is subject to strict rules of anonymity. Transparency is granted by a judge in the pilot court, who can make a ‘transparency order’ after the reporter or blogger requests to attend the court. The judge can set out what can and cannot be reported. Details that cannot be reported include names and personal details of those involved or information that is likely to identify any child involved.
The judge can also determine that there should be no reporting on a case or allow a reporter to attend only certain parts of a hearing – providing a specific reason is given.
Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, said when announcing the extension:
“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.”
Bradie Pell, head of Graysons’ family law department said:
“I am pleased to hear that there will be further transparency in the family courts. It will certainly raise awareness of the workings and complexities within the court process. However, I do understand the legitimate fear that some families may have regarding anonymity and the potential sensationalising of their cases by the press. It seems that during the first pilot – last year – cases have been reported sensibly and I hope that this will continue.”
Author: Bradie Pell, partner and head of Graysons’ family department.
