Posts
Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup: November 2025
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.
New statistics on Pathfinder courts show dramatic drop in length of proceedings
We've not seen this publicised yet, which is a little surprising as the Ministry of Justice is very keen on the Pathfinder approach in private law. We mentioned in our recent post on the HC Justice Committee session that judges, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and...
A child’s voice in care proceedings
A recent care case heard in Cardiff Family Court highlighted the experiences of children living in fear of their parents’ unpredictable and violent behaviour. The judge said that despite her having 30 years experience in care work, the children’s descriptions (in...
An end to secrecy in family courts? Proposed reforms of contempt of court law that could lift the threats to sharing information
It’s common knowledge that people involved in family court proceedings held in private are very restricted in what they can say about what’s happening. There are well-established and accepted restrictions on naming children (under section 97 Children Act 1989). The...
‘Reform of the Family Court’ – evidence session for the House of Commons Justice Committee
The House of Commons Parliamentary Justice Committee held a session on 28 October to look at ‘Reform of the Family Court’. We’re not sure what was meant by ‘reform’ – this was never specified - but the session had four important witnesses giving evidence: Lisa Harker...
Sara Sharif -what we now know from the Safeguarding Review
Chris Barnes represented the journalists, Louise Tickle and Hannah Summers, in proceedings before the High Court and Court of Appeal arising from applications for the disclosure of papers from the family proceedings concerning Sara and her family. On 13 November 2025,...
Court lifts grandmother’s anonymity at her request
This court judgment – [2025] EWFC 374 – has been published with two names: one is Re A (A Child) (Mother killed by Father) and the other: Linda Westcarr v Gogoa Lois Tape (1) A (2) The Paternal Grandmother (3)The Paternal Grandfather (4) and The London Borough of...
Family Procedure Rule Committee Open Meeting
One of our trustees, Julie Doughty, attended the Annual Open Meeting of the Family Procedure Rule Committee held online on 3 November. Applicants who ask to attend are invited to send in a question that may be answered at the meeting. Our question was about the ban on...
Boy left in Ghana – rehearing
There was a lot of media coverage back in February of this unusual story of a British teenage boy who’d taken his parents to court to try to get back home to London from Ghana. His parents had tricked him into visiting Ghana in early 2024 where they’d left him,...
Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup: October 2025
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 BBC reported that...