Court reporting has been extended to enable accredited media and legal bloggers to report on private family law court cases across 16 courts in England and Wales.
A pilot launched in January 2023 initially allowed public law cases to be reported on in Cardiff, Leeds, and Carlisle in what was at the time described as a ‘significant step towards opening up the family court and increasing transparency.’ In May 2023 the pilot was extended to private law cases, with a further 16 courts introduced in January this year. This latest extension will see private law cases be included from 15th July 2024.
Each case is subject to a “Transparency Order” setting out the rules of what can and cannot be reported with the pilot being undertaken and monitored by the Family Division’s Transparency Implementation Group Reporting Pilot (TIG). The aim of the reporting pilot has been to explore the impact of family proceedings on those involved. Since the launch of the pilot, family cases have been reported on extensively in the national press including the BBC, the Sunday Times, the Economist, the Guardian the Observer, the Daily Mail and the Press Association.
President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane says
“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.”
Both public and private law cases can now be reported on in the following courts:
London: Central Family Court, East London, West London
Midlands: Nottingham, Stoke, Derby, Birmingham
North East: West Yorkshire, Kingston-upon-Hull
North West: Liverpool, Manchester, Carlisle
South East: Luton, Guildford, Milton Keynes
South West: Dorset, Truro
Wales: Cardiff
