Many would have heard that since April 2009 members of the media (holding an authorised UK press card) were allowed to attend family hearings on divorce, financial matters and issues relating to children.  The purpose of this was to increase public confidence in the family courts and awareness of how cases are decided.   However cases which are designed specifically for negotiations were excluded.  These involved the Judge acting as a mediator to assist the parties on issues relating to children or finances.  The Judge could also restrict attendance and what the media could report on.

Nearly 10 months on and a recent study by the Ministry of Justice found that of the court staff surveyed only “25% said that journalists attended hearings since April 2009, 15% said journalists attended only once and 11% said that media attendance had led directly to an article being published.”  The lack of interest is possibly due to the restrictions on reporting.  Family disputes are also a very sensitive area.  What better evidence is there of this than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s potential claim against the News of the World for it having printed stories that “Brangelina”  had split.  The couple claim this was false.

New proposals are being put forward in the Children, Schools and Families Bill to allow information about the case while still protecting identities of children and families.  This Bill is currently in the House of Commons.  Whether this will be enough to persuade the media to report is one to watch…

(www.justice.gov.uk)
(news.bbc.co.uk)

Please contact any member of the family team for a free 30 minute initial consultation.