Reporting pilot extended to include private family disputes
The Family Division’s Transparency Implementation Group Reporting Pilot has been extended to include private law (meaning private family disputes concerning children) in the 16 courts that were added to the pilot in January 2024.
The reporting pilot introduced, for the first time, 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, and has since been extended to include private law in those three courts, and public law in 16 more courts. Since then there has been ground breaking 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 courts system, the judges, those involved in family proceedings, and on the media.
It is an important reminder that taking your family case to court has serious consequences, not just in costs and delay, but also in terms of public exposure. Out of court settlement options, such as ours, are completely private, which is hugely important for many of our clients.
Author Name: Editor
Published content by The Divorce Surgery Editorial Team.
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