Family Court Reporting Week - supporting journalists to report family court cases

This week sees the first ever “Family Court Reporting Week”, during which support will be given to journalists around the country to encourage more reporting of family court cases. 

This initiative is the Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s response to the Reporting Pilot that has been underway for the past two years, following the President of the Family Division’s Transparency Review in October 2021. Under the pilot scheme, an increasing number of family courts have been opened up to journalists, creating a presumption that journalists can report on what takes place during family court cases. There are still rules on anonymity, particularly when it comes to children, but it gives news outlets the opportunity to scrutinise and publicise what takes place behind the usual privacy and often criticised ‘closed doors’ of the family courts. 

However, many journalists, the Bureau says, are not taking up the opportunity to use their reporting rights. Gareth Davies, who manages the Bureau’s Family Justice project, said: “Going into a private family court hearing can be daunting for any journalist. We want to help reporters feel confident in exercising their reporting rights under the pilot scheme, and the practical support we are offering will hopefully mean more publications decide to run articles showing how the family justice system is operating in practice for the families who depend on it.” The feeling amongst practitioners too is that relatively few hearings are actually attended by reporters, despite the pilot having been established and running for a substantial amount of time.

In an attempt to improve family law reporting under the pilot, from Monday 4 November to Friday 8 November, the Bureau will offer:

• Mentoring for journalists about attending family court hearings, including how to understand court listings and how to access and understand the Reporting Pilot’s “Transparency Order”, which is the order the Court will consider whether to make if a journalist attends a hearing.  
• Practical support at certain family courts, from experienced journalists and lawyers, as well as some Judges.
• Events at certain courts to encourage journalists to familiarise themselves with family courts.

The Family Court Reporting Week also coincides with a further expansion of the Reporting Pilot. From Monday 4 November, the pilot has been extended to include both public and private law children cases before Magistrates in all 19 pilot area courts around the UK (including at the Central Family Court in London). In addition, the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has announced that, from next Monday 11 November, the reporting of financial remedy proceedings will extend to hearings at the Royal Courts of Justice (the Family Division of the High Court).

It remains to be seen whether the Family Court Reporting Week will promote increased reporting of cases taking place in the family courts, but with the Reporting Pilot continuing to be extended to new courts and new levels of the judiciary, it is clear that the commitment to achieving greater transparency in the family courts remains strong.