Through the looking glass - transparency in the family courts (reprised).

When Alice stepped through the looking-glass, she entered a world full of hidden logic, where familiar rules were reversed. To many, the family courts have appeared similar - shrouded in mystery and confusion. 

Within this curious world were, amongst others: 

• Two identical argumentative characters who speak in circles and contradict each other, more focused on performance than substance.
• A rather rotund character presiding from on high, focussed on language and interpretation, insisting that words mean what he chooses them to mean.
• Two characters fighting bitterly over a valuable possession - or perhaps simply power itself.

But enough about a family court hearing…. Alice Through the Looking Glass also gives us Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Humpty Dumpty and the Lion and the Unicorn fighting over a crown. And a rule-focussed Red Queen - perhaps an anthropomorphic Red Book…? 

But enough literary nonsense, this is in fact a serious article intended to highlight the recent announcement that the ongoing Transparency Pilot in financial remedy proceedings has been extended for a further year.

Launched in London, Birmingham and Leeds in January 2024, the Financial Remedies Court reporting pilot was extended in November 2024 to include High Court financial remedy cases at the Royal Courts of Justice.  In January 2025, it was rolled out to financial remedy proceedings in all courts and was due to run until 29 January 2026.  The recent announcement extends the pilot until January 2027 but goes on to say specifically that it is intended “in due course” to make it permanent following a consultation with stakeholders.

For more detailed consideration of transparency and how it works in practice (including the evolution of the reporting pilot in Children law cases), my previous article can be found here: Balancing privacy and accountability: a new era for Family Justice

For Alice the looking-glass world initially felt disorienting and hard to make sense of, populated by unfamiliar characters and strange rules. The Financial Remedies Transparency Pilot aims to bring clarity to what may previously have felt like an impenetrable realm of family law.  By allowing the public real insight into the process, what once appeared confusing and mysterious becomes understandable. In so doing, the hope is to strengthen accountability and build confidence in the system - more ‘logical Cheshire Cat’ than ‘Mad Hatter’.