Posts
Guardian report that a ‘radical trial’ of family court hearings in public is about to be announced
“Certain family court hearings to take place in public in radical trial” claimed the Guardian headline on the night before Christmas Eve. “James Munby, head of high court’s family division, to continue far-reaching reforms to bring more transparency to the system”...
‘England’s Stolen Children’ – Another missed opportunity.
INTRODUCTION This is a post divided into two parts. The first part is a summary of my analysis of the French documentary ‘England’s Stolen Children’ which first aired in France in November 2016. The second part is my attempt to transcribe it. The producer sent...
Ex-MP says ‘open justice’ rules ‘must be followed to the letter’
The Press Association have covered a case concerning the potential committal to prison of a Polish woman involved in care proceedings, it appears for publication of information concerning her child via an interview with Polish media which was aired in Poland and...
The GD the BD and the very very ugly
Mr Justice Cobb's judgment in the case of GD & BD (Children) (Rev 1) [2016] EWHC 3312 (Fam) (20 December 2016) was published this week. It has already been described by Suesspicious Minds blog as the worst case of 2016, not without good reason. It is a...
Girl’s rape claim upheld in Leeds despite prior no-trial decision
This headline ran in The Guardian on Monday. You can read the article here : Girl's rape claim upheld in Leeds despite prior no-trial decision The article explains that although a decision had earlier been taken not to prosecute through the criminal courts, the Family...
Family Court Reporting Watch: Weekly Round Up
Correcting, clarifying or commenting on media reports of family court cases Explaining or commenting on published Judgments of family court cases Highlighting other transparency news MEDIA REPORTS Christopher Booker commented again...
The Inquest into Ellie Butler’s death
It is reported that the Senior Coroner responsible for the inquest into the death of Ellie Butler, first opened in November 2013 shortly after Ellie's death, has decided to reopen the inquiry and potentially to call the High Court Judge who authorised her return to...
Family Court Reporting Watch: Weekly Round Up
Correcting, clarifying and commenting on media reports of family court cases Explaining and commenting on published Judgments of family court cases Highlighting other transparency news MEDIA REPORTS OF FAMILY COURTS CASES / FAMILY JUSTICE ISSUES The Daily...
Family Law Conference
The Manchester Centre for Law in Society and the Sylvia Pankhurst Gender Research Centre are holding a Family Law Conference on 4 March 2017 (10am - 4pm). Speakers : Rebecca Probert, Warwick University ‘The women who did: feminism, free love & freedom’ Marilyn...
Balancing carrots and sticks
Since we launched our Family Court Reporting Watch we've been trying to work out the best way to achieve the desired results - better reporting of family law and cases in the family courts. It's been a bit of a learning curve and we're continually adjusting our...