From January this year, new reporting provisions were introduced in family courts in England and Wales, following a successful pilot scheme. The government has published guidance on the new regime for parents and family members involved in family court proceedings.
Certain journalists and lawyers are now allowed to attend hearings and report on them. However, anything that is reported must be anonymised so that the parties in a case cannot be identified. This is to help the public understand how the courts work, while still protecting families’ privacy.
If the court allows a case to be reported on, a transparency order will be sent to the parties, detailing what can and cannot be reported. The order will state which people, places, and organisations can be named and which ones must not be named.
Reports cannot include:
- the names of any children or family members involved;
- places that the children live or go to;
- the dates of birth of any children;
- photographs of the children or family members.
Sometimes an order will detail other things that must not be included, to ensure that the family cannot be identified by accident.
A transparency order only allows journalists and lawyers to report on the case: it does not allow anyone else to publish anything about the case. Journalists will also be allowed to see certain documents, such as case reports or position statements. A large amount of sensitive information will remain private.
The judge will make the final decision about whether a case can be reported on. Parties will be able to tell the judge that they do not wish this to happen, but they cannot opt out without the judge’s agreement.