27 January marked a significant milestone for family justice in England & Wales. On that date new transparency rules were implemented in family court proceedings, allowing journalists and legal bloggers to attend and report on court cases. This move aims to enhance public understanding and confidence in the court system while ensuring the anonymity of the parties involved.

Under the new rules, there is a presumption that journalists and legal bloggers can now attend family hearings, observe the proceedings, and report on what they see and hear. They can also request documents and speak to individuals involved in the cases. However, this is not an automatic right. A transparency order must be granted, which ensures that the anonymity of the children and their families is protected and preserved, and these orders will be granted unless there is a legitimate reason not to.

One of the key aspects of the new transparency rules is the protection of anonymity for the parties involved. Despite these transparency rules currently covering nearly half of the family courts in England and Wales since January 2024, there have been no known breaches of anonymity during the pilot, and the aims of increasing public understanding and awareness of the family court are being realised.

The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has described these open reporting provisions as a "watershed moment for family justice." He emphasised the importance of improving public understanding and confidence in the Family Court system.

The journey towards these new transparency rules began in 2019 when the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, appointed a panel to investigate transparency in the family courts. The October 2021 report concluded that “openness and confidentiality are not irreconcilable and each is achievable”. Following the report, the Family Court Reporting Pilot was launched in January 2023 in Leeds, Carlisle, and Cardiff. Since then, the pilot has been progressively rolled out to 16 additional court areas. The success of this pilot led to the approval of the new open reporting provisions by the Family Procedure Rule Committee at the end of 2024. The new provisions will be implemented throughout the remaining family courts in a phased manner, starting with public law cases, followed by private law cases, and finally magistrates.

The introduction of these new transparency rules in family proceedings represents a significant step forward in the pursuit of open justice. By allowing journalists and legal bloggers to report on court cases while ensuring the anonymity of the parties involved, the expectation is that the family court system will become more transparent and accountable. This would then foster greater public trust and confidence, ultimately benefiting the entire justice system. That being said, there are still concerns in some quarters about possible ‘jigsaw identification’, with families able to be identified with reference to the facts of the cases reported, particularly in more extreme cases. Existing clients already in the midst of proceedings may understandably be concerned about a legal blogger or journalist appearing at the back of their court room.

If you are concerned about the new reporting rules and how it might affect your family proceedings, please get in touch with us at mail@burgessmee.com

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