Why we don’t know what’s going on in family courts

by reporting watch team | Aug 14, 2024 | FCReportingWatch, Transparency News, Trends

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...

Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup

by reporting watch team | Aug 5, 2024 | FCReportingWatch, Transparency News

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

by reporting watch team | Aug 1, 2024 | FCReportingWatch, Reporting Pilot, Transparency News

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....

Just how open is an open meeting of the Family Justice Council?

by reporting watch team | Jul 28, 2024 | FCReportingWatch, Transparency News

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...

More Family Court judgments to be published online

by reporting watch team | Jul 9, 2024 | FCReportingWatch, Transparency News

New guidance (you can find it here – scroll down to the ninth item on the list) has been issued to family courts by the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, on how judgments by judges and magistrates should be safely anonymised and published on The...

Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup

by reporting watch team | Jul 1, 2024 | Cases, FCReportingWatch, Legal blogging, Transparency News

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 The Independent (2 June 2024)...