A Family Court Reporting Pilot launched on 30 January 2023 and will run over a period of 12 months. The pilot allows reporters to not only attend hearings relating to arrangements for children, but also to report on what they see and hear which was previously prohibited under section 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960.
Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, published a report (Confidence and Confidentiality) recommending greater transparency in the Family Court in an attempt to increase public confidence in the family justice system. However, he was clear that this should not be at the expense of the interests of any children involved in proceedings.
The pilot applies in Leeds, Cardiff, and Carlisle to public law proceedings and private law proceedings between parents or other carers or family members.
At the beginning of the proceedings, a judge will issue a transparency order specific to that particular case, in which the pilot reporters are bound. Pilot reporters are defined as “duly accredited representatives of news gathering and reporting organisations and duly authorised lawyers attending for journalistic, research of public legal educational purposes”. Once a transparency order is issued, pilot reporters will be permitted to report on hearings subject to certain restrictions. The key restriction being that the anonymity of children must be strictly preserved, and publishing information intended or likely to identify the children will remain prohibited. Pilot reporters are only to be provided with skeleton arguments, orders, and court bundle indices; they are not entitled to see other documents although they may apply for access to them.
The purpose of this pilot is to improve public understanding of the court process and confidence in the family court system. It aims to balance the access to, and reporting of proceedings by the media, while maintaining the privacy of the families involved. To some, this can be seen as a positive but for those not so sure, this could be viewed as an invasion of their privacy. However, in most private law cases, the parties could choose to arbitrate, thus ensuring privacy. Arbitration is effectively a private court process for resolving disputes in your family law case. Both parties jointly appoint a specialist family law arbitrator to sit as a judge and they will then make a binding decision at the end of the hearing.
Arbitration is a service we offer so if you would like any further information regarding this topic, please do not hesitate to contact us.
