Posts
Clifford Bellamy takes up role as patron of The Transparency Project
We are very pleased to announce that Clifford Bellamy, who retired as the Designated Family Judge for Derby last month, has agreed to act as a patron of The Transparency Project*. We were sorry when we learned of Judge Bellamy’s imminent retirement, as he has been an...
NOT reforming the courts’ approach to McKenzie Friends: a judicial abdication of responsibility
In February 2016, the Lord Chief Justice and the Judicial Executive Board issued a consultation entitled “Reforming the courts’ approach to McKenzie Friends”. Three years later, they have finally produced a response which, disappointingly, just passes the buck to the government.
Shamima’s baby – the family law aspect
We've started trying to write something about Shamima Begum and her baby several times this week, but every time we agree what we are going to write, something changes. It feels a bit like shifting sands, and the facts are very unclear. So we aren't going to say very...
Coronation Street Child Abortion Storyline: What is the law?
What is the law? Last week on Coronation Street, 14-year-old Amy Barlow had an abortion. In line with the current law in England and Wales, she was able to do so without her parents consent. The story caught media attention after twitter users appeared surprised by...
BC v BG – Challenging arbitration awards in divorce cases
Divorcing couples who cannot agree how to divide their property can, as an alternative to costly and time consuming litigation, refer the matter to an arbitrator. But if one of them isn’t happy about the outcome, the matter could still end up in court. The recent case...
Family Court Reporting Watch Round Up
Correcting, clarifying or commenting on media reports of family court casesExplaining or commenting on published judgments of family court casesHighlighting other transparency news MEDIA (MIS)REPORTS OF FAMILY COURT CASES The Times - Polly Morgan explained the facts...
Tickle’s Triumph – an independent journalist succeeds in her appeal to secure the right to report on a family case – and prompts new guidance
Today, independent journalist and Transparency Project member Louise Tickle took her appeal against a reporting restriction order made by a family judge, to the Court of Appeal. She won. Louise and others are now able to report the story of a mother’s long...
Could Cairncross help public interest law reporting?
This is a post by Dr Judith Townend, a lecturer in media and information law at the University of Sussex, with research interests in public interest reporting and freedom of expression....
An X worth waiting for – Xpress wins our hearts!
Ok, perhaps we're getting a bit over excited this Valentine's day, but we've just had a response from the team at the Daily Express, about our almost forgotten complaint on the (not) 'flirtatious text messages' news items (see our post here, where everyone had...
Mail Online forced to publish correction after its inaccurate reporting of a Family Court case
Last month we noticed that Mail Online had published a correction. Going under the headline Correction: High Court judgment on Nikah Marriage divorce petition, this was not an apology but rather it was The Mail complying with a ruling from regulator IPSO. The Mail...