Posts
Barring orders – strengthened guidance on section 91(14) to stop repeated applications
Parents who live under the shadow of constant threats by ex-partners of being taken back to court, with repeated applications about their children, will now get more protection from this happening.“Barring orders” is the name commonly given to orders the Family Court...
Transparency in the FRC – The workings of the TIG Sub-Group
This post is by HHJ Stuart Farquhar. HHJ Farquhar is a Circuit Judge based in Brighton. He is the Lead Judge in the Financial Remedies Court for Kent, Surrey and Sussex and Chairs the FRC sub-group of the Transparency Implementation Group. It is somewhat ironic, to...
Very much ancillary
A lot has been written of late about the privacy (or otherwise) of family money cases, and all of it by men with big brains and a lot of words. As someone who hasn’t conducted a money case for some years (not great with numbers, me), I would not dare to offer any view...
Media reporters’ Charter – open justice, but only for some
A new “Reporters’ Charter” outlining the rights and responsibilities of court reporters has been launched to boost transparency in the justice system, according an announcement by HM Courts and Tribunals Service. The charter, part of the General guidance to staff on...
When can parental responsibility be removed from a terrible parent?
In the summer of 2021, Jade Ward was killed by her estranged husband Russell Marsh at their family home. He is now serving a life sentence for her murder. She leaves behind four little boys who are now being raised by her mother and other family members. This is not...
FAMILY COURT REPORTING WATCH ROUNDUP
Welcome to the Roundup, where we correct, clarify and comment on media reports of family court cases, explain and comment on published family court judgments and highlight other transparency news MEDIA COVERAGE OF FAMILY COURT MATTERS ITV, Wales Online, BBC Wales, the...
Court hearing lists and open justice
A cheery post on the HM Courts and Tribunals Service blog recently announced that developers were now working on on Making hearing lists more accessible to court and tribunal users This is long overdue. HMCTS has had court listings on its list, as it were, ever since...
The anonymisation wars – who is right about privacy in financial remedy cases?
This post isn't going to try and answer the question we've posed in the title (sorry) - but it is intended to try and briefly summarise some of what has been happening lately around the topic of family court transparency in financial remedies cases, and it accompanies...
Some Sunlight Seeps in
This is a guest post by Sir James Munby, former President of the Family Division[1]. In relation to transparency in the Financial Remedies Court there are further signs that the tectonic plates are shifting. BT v CU In November 2021 Mostyn J set the cat among the...
Highlights from the latest Rules Committee minutes
The minutes of the Family Justice Rules Committee (FJRC) meetings held on 7 February and 7 March 2022 are now transparently published. This is speedy compared to previously, and compared to the time it takes other hard-pressed family justice...