Posts
Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup
Correcting, clarifying or commenting on media reports of family court cases Explaining or commenting on published judgments of family court cases Highlighting other transparency news MEDIA (MIS)REPORTS OF FAMILY COURT CASES The Oxford Mail - We've barely commented on...
Press regulation: the end of the road for Leveson reforms
On 1 March 2018 the government announced that it would not be proceeding with the second stage of the Leveson Inquiry, and would seek to repeal section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. This post explains the background to that decision and assesses where that...
Dealing with sex abuse: How does the Family Court assess risk?
In the latest in her series of lectures on Transparency in the Family Justice System, Gresham Professor of Law, Jo Delahunty QC considered the problems faced by the courts in dealing with family law cases involving allegations of child sex abuse. A warning Jo...
Crisis in care – crisis in confidence?
In November 2017 Family Rights Group launched an enquiry into the causes of the increasing numbers of children in care and in care proceedings. No doubt there are many such causes. As we noted in September [2017] Fam Law 1048, those causes probably include...
The role of transparency in rebuilding public trust and confidence
As we noted in 'Transparency Project News' in July [2017] Fam Law 778, August 2017 is the third anniversary of Sir James Munby's Transparency – the next steps consultation (still available on the judiciary website). We also noted that those responses that were...
What’s the difference between an allocation and a transfer?
AKA When is a single Family Court not a unified Family Court? This post is an attempt to explain a rather technical piece of guidance that was issued yesterday. It has been tricky trying to make it easy to get your head around, but we’ve done our best. Here goes… In...
Whatever happened to the judiciary’s McKenzie Friends consultation?
In February 2016, the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, and the Judicial Executive Board issued a consultation entitled “Reforming the courts’ approach to McKenzie Friends”. It followed an internal report by a judicial working group and sought...
New approach to media cases at the Royal Courts of Justice is a welcome development
This is an edited version of an article which first appeared in Communications Law journal, volume 23, issue 1 (Bloomsbury Professional) and PA Media Lawyer and is re-published here with permission and thanks. In 2012 Mr Justice Tugendhat, ahead of his retirement in...
Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup
Correcting, clarifying or commenting on media reports of family court cases Explaining or commenting on published judgments of family court cases Highlighting other transparency news MEDIA (MIS)REPORTS OF FAMILY COURT CASES NSPCC - We followed up blog discussions...
Mum wins appeal about her child’s potential adoption but still has to pay her own legal costs – why?
Proportionality and no order for costs in discharge order proceedings - Discharge order appeal The recent care case of M (A Child) [2018] EWCA Civ 240 (judgment: 20 February 2018) has achieved some notoriety because the mother, who won her appeal, still had to pay her...