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The Transparency Project is an educational charity1. Our objectives are To advance the education of the public in the subject of family law and its administration, including the family justice system in England and Wales and the work of the family courts, in...
An update on the family courts from ‘top judge’
An end-of-term report was published by Sir Andrew McFarlane, the President of the Family Division, on 31 July. It covered myriad topics, so here’s a summary, with a few observations added. We should clarify that this is not the Family Court Annual Report (still...
Why we don’t know what’s going on in family courts
We hear a lot about ‘secret’ family courts because of reporting restrictions and family privacy, but there is more to genuine transparency than holding processes out in the open. To understand how a system is operating we need information based on reliable data across...
Air Conditioning, Astroturf, and Transparency Orders
This is a guest post from Anna Yarde. Anna is a barrister at Harcourt Chambers. Lauryn Goodman v Kyle Andrew Walker [2024] EWFC 212 (B) This is a case about an influencer, a famous footballer, infidelity and lavish spending. It is also a case about transparency and...
Domestic abuse and the Financial Remedies Court
This is a guest post from Femi Ogunlende. Femi is a barrister at No5 Chambers. This post discusses the current approach to domestic abuse in financial remedy proceedings. For those short on time and unable to read the post in full, the key conclusions you need to be...
Final divorce orders – a ‘particular category’
In this guest post, barrister Elizabeth Wark explains what happened when a solicitor accidentally applied online for a divorce for the wrong client, and why that couldn't be fixed by the court. The facts In the recent case of Williams v. Williams [2024] EWHC 733...
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 MATTERS Sanchia Berg, senior reporter with the...
Frustrated: our attempts to report on family court hearing before Magistrates – a system in overload
If we can't navigate the system what hope for litigants in person? POST UPDATED 24 SEPTEMBER 2024 As far as we know legal bloggers at The Transparency Project are the only reporters who have tried to report on family court cases being dealt with by magistrates. Given...
Just how open is an open meeting of the Family Justice Council?
On 22 July 2024 the Family Justice Council held its annual open meeting. We attended to see what we could see. In order to attend we had to apply in advance by a stated deadline. Questions were permitted but had to be asked in advance, by completing a web form, which...
London judge makes post-adoption contact order
We’ve come across what we think is the first ever judgment published on TNA/BAILII where a post-adoption contact order under section 51A of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 has been made. However, this order makes rather a fleeting appearance in the very long and...