fbpx

Family Court Transparency Pilot is Extended

12th February 2024 By

The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary has announced the extension of a groundbreaking Family Court reporting pilot.

The Transparency Implementation Group Reporting Pilot is being extended to 16 more courts across the country, after an initial run at the family courts in Leeds, Cardiff and Carlisle, which began in late January 2023.

The pilot introduces ‘a presumption that accredited media and legal bloggers may report on what they see and hear during family court cases, subject to strict rules of anonymity’. Judges in the pilot courts will make Transparency Orders, which will set out the rules in respect of what can and cannot be reported.

By rolling the pilot out to additional courts, the Judiciary aims to explore the impact of reporting on the courts system and judges, as well as on the people involved in family proceedings, and the media.

As of 29 January 2024, the additional courts participating in the pilot are as follows:

  • North West: Liverpool, Manchester
  • North East: West Yorkshire, Kingston-upon-Hull
  • Midlands: Nottingham, Stoke, Derby, Birmingham
  • London: Central Family Court, East London, West London
  • South West: Dorset, Truro
  • South East: Luton, Guildford, Milton Keynes

Commenting on the scheme, Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, said, "Extending the reporting pilot to family courts across the country is a huge step in the judiciary’s ongoing work to increase transparency and improve public confidence and understanding of the family justice system.

"We hope than in extending the pilot further we can continue to understand the impact that family court reporting has. I would like to urge the media to read the guidance and come to the family courts to see the vital and challenging work that is done there, and to report on the cases and issues that are so important."

Source: Concious

Latest News

Tenants Can Purchase Freehold When Landlord Cannot Be Found

11th June, 2024 By

The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 gives qualifying leaseholders the right to join together to buy the freehold of their properties – a process known as collective enfranchisement. A recent case demonstrated that this right can be exercised even when the landlord cannot be found. The leaseholders of two flats in a terraced house wished to purchase it from the landlord, but were unable to ascertain his whereabouts and therefore could not serve notice on him under Section 13 of the Act. They therefore applied for an...

Court Refuses to Set Aside Divorce Order Applied for by Mistake

6th June, 2024 By

While the courts have a range of powers to set aside orders, they will only exercise them in limited circumstances. In a somewhat surprising case that has attracted much comment, the High Court declined to set aside a final order of divorce that had been applied for by mistake. A couple separated in January 2023, after more than 21 years of marriage. In October that year, while financial remedy proceedings were still ongoing, the wife's legal representatives inadvertently applied for a final order of divorce in respect of her instead...

Waiting Time for Grants of Probate Falls

3rd June, 2024 By

Following concerns last year about delays in processing probate applications, recent figures from HM Courts and Tribunals Service show that waiting times for grants of probate are continuing to improve. The average time from submission of a probate application to probate being granted fell to 11.3 weeks in March 2024, a decrease from 13.7 weeks in February and 13.8 weeks in January. This is the lowest figure since March 2023, when the average was 10.8 weeks. The longest waiting time since then was in November, at 15.8 weeks: that month,...

Late Appeal Against Tax Penalties Rejected

31st May, 2024 By

It is incumbent on taxpayers to make sure they fully comply with their obligations to file returns and pay any tax due. The point was illustrated by a recent case in which a taxpayer whose return had not been received by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) failed to persuade the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that he should be permitted to appeal against the resulting penalties. On the evening of 31 January 2014, the man had completed his 2012/13 Income Tax return on HMRC's website. Shortly afterwards he went to Cyprus, and...