In 2015 Mostyn J commented, “To say that the law about the ability of the press to report ancillary relief proceedings which they are allowed to observe is a mess would be a serious understatement”: Appleton v Gallagher [2015] EWHC 2689 (Fam); [2016] EMLR 3, at [6]. Continue reading
The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Category: Open Justice (Page 2 of 12)
The Legal Education Foundation has published a report about the collection, use and commercial exploitation of data from the justice system, focusing in particular on the new judgments database set up by The National Archives earlier this year. It reveals both a lack of public awareness and a surprising level of public concern over the re-use of such data by third parties, and recommends more transparency in how such data is managed. Continue reading
Last year, the High Court made the decision that the late Prince Philip’s will should be “sealed up” for a period of 90 years, preventing anyone finding out who he had left his estate to. The decision was made by the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, in his capacity as Head of Probate. Continue reading
A new “Reporters’ Charter” outlining the rights and responsibilities of court reporters has been launched to boost transparency in the justice system, according an announcement by HM Courts and Tribunals Service. Continue reading
A cheery post on the HM Courts and Tribunals Service blog recently announced that developers were now working on on Making hearing lists more accessible to court and tribunal users This is long overdue. HMCTS has had court listings on its list, as it were, ever since it began its massive £1bn+ modernisation and digitisation programme back in 2016. Continue reading
The National Archives has launched a new free online service to provide access to new court and tribunal decisions. From today court judgments from the superior courts in England Wales are being sent to the National Archives made available on the database. Continue reading
The case of Xanthopoulos v Rakshina [2022] EWFC 30 has hit the headlines because of the eye watering legal costs, and the excoriating judicial criticism of the parties for running them up. But Xanthopoulos is not only interesting because of its extraordinary financial extravagance. Below the passages about the millions and millions of pounds of fees and how they should be met, is a long section of the judgment about transparency. It is a bombshell. Continue reading
There has long been a tension between the principles of open justice and the desire of parties litigating sensitive matters to keep their identity, parts of the litigation, or even the fact of the litigation itself, private. The default position for almost all civil litigation is that (i) parties are named in proceedings, (ii) non-parties (i.e. members of the public) can obtain copies of core documents from the court, and (iii) hearings are conducted in ‘open’ court (i.e. the public may observe). Continue reading
It’s not that often that a journalist or legal blogger attends a family court hearing but, when they do, they will often ask for permission to report what has taken place, anonymously. Because lawyers and judges are often unfamiliar with dealing with this sort of request, there can be confusion about the correct approach, and sometimes even about whether an ‘ordinary’ Family Court judge is allowed to deal with such a request. Continue reading
In a case highly dependent on its very unusual facts, the Court of Appeal in Griffiths v Tickle ([2021] EWCA Civ 1882) confirmed (in dismissing an appeal) that a mother and father involved in Children Act 1989 proceedings can be identified. It agreed that a previous fact-finding judgment[pdf] by Her Honour Judge Williscroft at Derby County Court in November 2020, in relation to allegations of serious sexual abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour, and violence, perpetrated by the husband on his ex-wife over a 10 year period, could be published (with relatively modest redactions relating to family members and the identity of the child). Continue reading
Recent Judgments
© 2026 Inforrm's Blog
Theme by Anders Norén — Up ↑