Posts
Rules for online court hearings – consultation
The Covid lockdown period provided unexpected opportunities to discover the advantages and disadvantages of holding court hearings 'remotely' online. Currently, family courts prefer to hold hearings in person but there's a general move toward more cases being heard...
Sir James Munby’s greatest hits: an appreciation of his work
If you have been to family court, there is a good chance that your case was influenced by decisions made by Sir James Munby, who has died aged 77. As a barrister, as a judge, and finally as President of the Family Division – the most senior family judge in the...
The Open Justice Principle and access to local authority documents
A heavily redacted judgment about a BBC application to the Family Court appeared on BAILII and The National Archives (TNA) in December (last month) although it had been delivered a year earlier. We can also see from the number – 421 – that this was allocated by TNA...
Sir James Munby
We are very sad to learn of the death last week of Sir James Munby, the former President of the Family Division and an active supporter of The Transparency Project. No doubt much will be said in the next few days about Sir James' huge contribution to family justice...
Children and parents speak up about the Pathfinder in private law – new research published
The evaluation of children and families’ experiences in the first stage of the Pathfinder Pilot was published this week by the Ministry of Justice, ‘Understanding the experience of children and families’. This research covers interviews during August – December 2024...
Some Transparency Project News
On 1 January 2026. our founder and chair, Lucy Reed KC, will commence her two year term as Vice Chair of the Family Law Bar Association. Consequently, Lucy will be stepping back from her role as chair of The Transparency Project. Fellow founding member and trustee, Dr...
Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup: November 2025
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.
New statistics on Pathfinder courts show dramatic drop in length of proceedings
We've not seen this publicised yet, which is a little surprising as the Ministry of Justice is very keen on the Pathfinder approach in private law. We mentioned in our recent post on the HC Justice Committee session that judges, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and...
A child’s voice in care proceedings
A recent care case heard in Cardiff Family Court highlighted the experiences of children living in fear of their parents’ unpredictable and violent behaviour. The judge said that despite her having 30 years experience in care work, the children’s descriptions (in...
An end to secrecy in family courts? Proposed reforms of contempt of court law that could lift the threats to sharing information
It’s common knowledge that people involved in family court proceedings held in private are very restricted in what they can say about what’s happening. There are well-established and accepted restrictions on naming children (under section 97 Children Act 1989). The...