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Family courts to be opened up to media access
Jack Straw, the Justice Minister, announced today in the House of Commons that the accredited media will be allowed to attend family proceedings, the judge will be able to exclude the media from specific proceedings where the welfare of children or the safety of the parties requires it, there will a pilot project involving publication of anonymised judgments from the lower courts that will start in Spring 2009, and allowing parties to disclose information to advisers (such as MPs) during the course of proceedings.
Jack Straw explained the reasons for announcing these changes:
“It is critical that family courts make the right decisions and the public have confidence they are doing so. A key part of building trust in the system is that people understand how it works.
At the same time, we must protect the privacy of children and families involved in family court cases so they are not identified or stigmatised by their community or friends.
These plans strike the right balance in providing a more open, transparent and accountable system while protecting children and families during a difficult and traumatic time in their lives.”
Posted on 16 December, 2008 by David Hodson
