News
Media access to family courts
Despite opposition from the majority of the legal profession, journalists are now allowed into family proceedings in the magistrates, county and High Court.
They will not be able to identify the parties or any child involved in the proceedings and courts will have the discretion to exclude them in the interests of children or the safety of the parties and witnesses.
Justice secretary Jack Straw said that the changes would help increase public faith in the court system. Until now, with some exceptions, neither the public nor the media have been allowed into the court to protect families from intrusion into their privacy. But there have been claims that the secrecy of the hearings has led to injustices, with some children wrongly taken into care.
Accredited journalists will now be allowed into family hearings to witness what is being said and done. News organisations however, have complained that many cases will remain unreported because judges still have wide powers to restrict reporting and media access.
The Ministry of Justice has said that it would be legislating to revise reporting restrictions as soon as parliamentary time allows. Until this time journalists will be able to report outlines of cases to allow readers to understand ‘the gist of the proceedings without identifying those involved’ a spokesman said.
Please contact Roger Stone at Chichester or Sarah Evans at Selsey for more information.