New Regulations to Enhance Transparency in Family Courts

Starting early next year, journalists and legal bloggers will gain permission to report on family court proceedings throughout England and Wales. This expansion means transparency will become a permanent fixture, moving beyond its current limitation to pilot courts. Reporters will have the ability to seek a transparency order in any family court, enabling them to cover observations, access essential documents, and engage with families, on the condition that anonymity is maintained for those involved. Previously, while journalists and legal bloggers could be present in family courts, their reporting scope was restricted. Currently, a transparency pilot program is active in just under half of the family courts across England and Wales. Although judges will maintain the authority to decline such requests, there will be an underlying presumption supporting the allowance of reporting. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has sanctioned this alteration, which is scheduled to take effect on 27 January 2025. Its implementation will be phased, initially extending transparency to public law, specifically care cases, followed by private law matters involving parental separation, and finally to magistrates’ courts. Family courts possess the most extensive authority to intervene in individuals’ private family matters, making determinations regarding the removal of children from their parents or deciding which parent children will reside with. The recent instance of Sara Sharif illustrates the lasting impact these rulings can have on people’s lives. In that case, a family court ruled to place Sara with her father and stepmother, who were subsequently convicted of her murder. A High Court Judge authorized the release of documents pertinent to that family case, though stipulating that the name of the judge involved should not be disclosed. Journalists have received permission to appeal this particular decision, with the hearing scheduled for early January. For the past two years, BBC News has demonstrated the effectiveness of Transparency Orders in uncovering significant public interest stories while simultaneously safeguarding family privacy. In early 2023, the BBC utilized these orders to cover cases within Leeds Family Court. The push for greater transparency facilitated the BBC’s acquisition of information in May 2023 concerning a previous family hearing involving Finley Boden, an infant returned by Family Magistrates to the parents who later murdered him. Leveraging transparency, the BBC was able to report in November 2023 on a young mother in Cardiff who incurred costs of £30,000 in the Family Court to shield her young daughter from her ex-husband, a convicted paedophile. MP Harriet Harman commented that the BBC’s coverage had exposed a legislative deficiency overlooked by politicians. She initiated efforts to amend the law, with a proposed change included in the current King’s Speech. Furthermore, transparency enabled the disclosure that Baby Elsa, discovered abandoned in a London park on the year’s coldest night, was the third offspring of the same parents. Through transparency, Emma Glasbey of the BBC’s Look North recounted the experience of an abuse survivor whose children were removed. It was also employed to report on the Harehills Family case, which resulted in riots in Leeds this July. Callum Parke from PA Media has covered numerous family cases by utilizing transparency orders. Hannah Summers of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has applied transparency to report on intricate private law cases, notably one where she successfully advocated for the identification of a husband accused of rape. Louise Tickle of Tortoise Media has been a long-standing advocate for increased transparency. Her reports, informed by transparency, indicated that some judges are resistant to the movement towards greater openness. Lucy Reed KC, who founded the Transparency project—a charitable organization dedicated to enhancing public comprehension of the Family Courts—stated that this expansion represents “a great step forward.” However, she added that “there is still a great deal more cultural and practical change required before the Family Court can say it is operating as transparently as possible.” Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.