Posts
Independent research on domestic abuse and family courts
In the Victoria Derbyshire television programme on 16 May, Sir James Munby, the former President of the Family Division, acknowledged (via a written statement) the weight of expressions of dissatisfaction and concern that was building up about orders for contact...
![Money, money, money, must be funny, in an [anonymised beneficiary’s] world: protecting child beneficiaries in variation of trust cases](https://transparencyproject.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/adolescence-adorable-baby-1089069-1080x675.jpg)
Money, money, money, must be funny, in an [anonymised beneficiary’s] world: protecting child beneficiaries in variation of trust cases
A typical plot development in old novels is the sudden discovery of unexpected wealth, usually in the form of an inheritance, or the discovery of a long lost will or hidden relationship to a wealthy benefactor. That is sometimes what it...
Legal blogging by consent
On 10 May I attended the Family Court to see if I could attend a hearing under the Legal Blogging Pilot before heading off to collecting judgment in one of my cases at noon. I wasn’t sure that this would be very productive because of the fact I could only fit in a...
A plea for help
This is a plea for help. Think baby kitten up a tree. Or @seethrujustice between funding streams. Seriously, we’re trying out new ideas to keep our Family Court Reporting Watch Project going between funding streams, while we put our energy into funding...
Spotlight on the family courts: But is it enough? The Victoria Derbyshire Show view
For anyone who missed Tuesday's third episode in the BBC Victoria Derbyshire show’s investigation into how the family courts treat victims of domestic abuse, it’s available at catch up here (5:39 to 23:18). The more nuanced, collaborative, and solutions focused tones...
Judge agrees learning disabled man can make his own choice about marriage and should be told about his finances
This is a first post from Abigail Bond, one of our new contributors. Abigail tweets as @AbigailBond1. In May this year Mr Justice Francis handed down a carefully anonymised judgment in a case concerning PBM, a man in his mid-twenties who had an acquired brain injury...
Transparency Project News April 2019
This blog post originally appeared as an article in the April issue of Family Law at [2019] Fam Law 437(2). The Transparency Project has a new patron The Transparency Project is very pleased to report that Clifford Bellamy, recently retired Circuit Judge and former...
‘Spotlight’ on Family Courts announced – but is it enough?
Today The Times published a comment piece by our Chair Lucy Reed articulating the need for an inquiry into Family Courts and their handling of domestic abuse in particular : We must shed light on family court crisis. This followed Lucy's appearance on the BBC last...
NB on Re NB
At the beginning of April 2019, a Press Association report of an interim hearing at the Court of Protection provoked a number of newspaper headlines and outraged reactions, because it quoted a High Court judge, Mr Justice Hayden, as having spoken of a “fundamental...
Courts: fit for the future – but not for the present?
More than a year has passed since the Transparency Project submitted its response (among many others) to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation on the future strategy of court and tribunal estate reform. Now at last the MOJ has issued its own response. You can read...