Posts
‘Transparency should help a flawed system to improve’
On 30 March, The Guardian published this editorial: 'The Guardian view on family justice: transparency should help a flawed system to improve. Increased openness is a change for the better. But cuts have made the courts’ work far harder' We have written this letter in...
The Vice Chancellor and the Cake Maker – Part 2
This is an update on the post we wrote on 18 March about family court and defamation proceedings relating to a high profile couple, Professor James Tooley and Ms Cynthia Tooley/Stroud MBE. Two new judgments in Ms Tooley’s defamation case have been published – one...
Does the Open Justice Principle apply in the Court of Protection?
Earlier this week, the Court of Appeal heard an argument that the Open Justice Principle does not apply to the Court of Protection (CoP) and that an 'urban myth' had wrongly grown that any attempt to restrict public access to CoP proceedings was 'a derogation from...
When ‘transparency’ orders create opacity
This story by the Good Law Project on 19 March - Liv Nervo: Court calls Pringle’s ‘shameful’ conduct ‘abuse’- is about a mother who wanted to publicise her family court case but then found that the decision that allowed the media into court to listen to the evidence...
The ‘Thatcherite’ VC and the Cake Maker
A family court case has hit the headlines over the past year, not so much for anything remarkable about the Family Law Act 1996 dispute in front of the judges, but because the husband (according to press reports) is friendly with prominent right wing politicians and...
Stability and Siblinghood: Balancing primary attachment and biological bonds
This is a guest post by Harriet Humberstone, a law student who begins her Bar professional course this September. Harriet has a particular interest in representing children in both private and public law. This post will highlight the complex judicial balance that...
New resources for litigants in person
Two recent publications are relevant to litigants in person (LiPs) in family courts who are conducting their own case without being represented by a lawyer. The first one is important because it is guidance that a LiP will need to follow. The second is of wider...
Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup: February 2026
Welcome to the Roundup, where we correct, clarify and comment on media reports of family law, explain and comment on published family court judgments, and highlight other transparency news. MEDIA COVERAGE OF FAMILY LAW, TRANSPARENCY etc The big story from the family...
Can a Prenup survive English law?
Spider-Man, Zendaya and the Prenup that might not save them This is a guest post by Salomé Ashenden. Salomé is a law graduate preparing for practice at the Bar. She holds a MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College London and has experience working as a...
The repeal of the presumption of involvement of both parents
We last wrote on this topic in October 2025 when Parliament had announced the intention to repeal the controversial presumption when time could be found. A review of the presumption found that it contributed to a perception of a pro-contact culture, even though the...