On Monday 29 January 2024 the Transparency Implementation Group Reporting Pilot will be extended to sixteen further court centres, including Liverpool Civil & Family Court and Manchester Civil Justice Centre. This pilot will establish the default position that accredited media and legal bloggers can report on the cases within the family court, subject to strict rules of anonymity.
The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, explained that ‘extending the reporting pilot to family courts across the country is a huge step in the judiciary’s ongoing work to increase transparency and improve public confidence and understanding of the family justice system’. The pilot scheme seeks to ensure that reporting can be done safely and with minimum disruption to the courts and those who are involved, and aims to enhance the transparency and accountability within our family justice system.
The pilot requires the Judge in any given case to make a Transparency Order, which establishes the rules of what can and cannot be reported. The journalists or legal bloggers who are in attendance at any hearing must be provided with a copy of this order, and they must also be provided with documents drafted by advocates or the parties if they are litigants in person and any indices from the bundle upon their request for the same.
The standard order will ordinarily include that the following must not be reported without the express permission of the court:
- The name or date of birth of any subject child in the case;
- The name of any parent or family member who is a party or who is mentioned in the case, or whose name may lead to the child(ren) being identified;
- The name of any person who is a party to, or intervening in, the proceedings;
- The address of any child or family member;
- The name or address of any foster carer;
- The school/hospital/placement name or address, or any identifying features of a school of the child;
- Photographs or images of the child, their parents, carer or any other identifying person, or any of the locations specified above in conjunction with other information relating to the proceedings. This includes photographs of the parents or other parties leaving the Court building;
- The names of any medical professional who is or has been treating any of the children or family members;
- In cases involving alleged sexual abuse, the details of such alleged abuse;
- Any other information likely to identify the child as a subject or former subject child.
The standard order will also usually include that the following agencies or professionals may be named within reporting:
- The local authority/authorities involved in the proceedings;
- The director and assistant director of Children’s Services within the local authority;
- Senior personnel at cafcass;
- Any NHS Trust;
- Court appointed experts;
- Legal representatives and Judges;
- Anyone else named in a published judgment.
The court does have a discretion to exclude pilot reporters from a hearing or from part of a hearing according to FPR r.27.11(3), but this should only be done for specific reasons and these reasons should be recorded within the case management order. If any party seeks the exclusion of a reporter then they should raise this as early as possible, however, they should note that it is now going to be highly unusual for the media to be excluded from any hearing.
The extension of the transparency pilot to our local court centres next week is a welcome advancement and one which we hope will enhance the public’s understanding and confidence in the family justice system.
Written by Isabel Clarke, Pupil Barrister at Unit Chambers.
Law is correct as of 26th January 2024. Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure that the law in this article is correct, it is intended to give a general overview of the law for educational purposes. Readers are respectfully reminded that it is not intended to be a substitute for specific legal advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. No liability is accepted for any error or omission contained herein.