Posts
ASSISTED DYING : WHAT ROLE FOR THE JUDGE? MORE THOUGHTS
This is a guest post from Sir James Munby, the former President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales. It follows on from his previous pieces on this topic here and here. I make no apologies for returning again to the important question of the...
Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup
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.
Law reform and contempt of court – but where are family courts?
The Law Commission for England and Wales is consulting on proposals to reform the law of contempt of court. The consultation paper is more than 400 pages long but there's a handy summary on the web page. As most readers of this blog are only too well aware, a major...
Felix and Bella – two judgments following an injury to a baby
In this blog, I discuss Re Felix (fact finding and welfare) [2024] EWFC 302(B), a judgment of Her Honour Judge Vincent given in the Family Court sitting at Oxford on 8 February 2024. Felix is not the real name of the child at the centre of the case. The...
ASSISTED DYING : WHAT ROLE FOR THE JUDGE? Some further thoughts
This is a guest post from Sir James Munby, the former President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales. It follows on from his previous piece on this topic here. In Assisted Dying : What Role for the Judge? published by the Transparency Project...
Committee nerds: assemble! (Family Procedure Rule Committee – more interesting than you might imagine)
Last week we attended the open meeting of the Family Procedure Rule Committee. It only happens once a year, and you'll be pleased to hear that we sat through the three hour long meeting so you didn't have to. From our perspective, the most important news is...
Another couple of small steps for Transparency
The (children) Reporting Pilot has been gradually expanding in its reach since January 2023. From 4 November it has not only covered 19 family courts across England and Wales (including those with the highest volume of cases), but reporters have been able finally to...
‘Family judge keeps press in the dark about “indefensible” case’
This summer, two judgments were published from Newport Family Court that related to an application by a local authority (un-named) to withdraw care proceedings it had issued back in April 2023. The child subject to the application had been removed from his...
Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup
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 Guardian had an...
ASSISTED DYING : WHAT ROLE FOR THE JUDGE?
This is a guest post by Sir James Munby, former President of the Family Division. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill had its first, purely formal, reading in the House of Commons on 16 October 2024, when it was presented by Kim Leadbeater MP. The important...