One of our trustees, Julie Doughty, attended the Annual Open Meeting of the Family Procedure Rule Committee held online on 3 November. Applicants who ask to attend are invited to send in a question that may be answered at the meeting. Our question was... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=30049

Remember that case where a journalist was kicked out of a family court hearing - after being grilled about why she was there? Ever wonder what happened to the family? suzannemartinjournalist.substack.com/p/where-are-...

Unusual family court case: applicant grandmother wanted herself and father to be named, supported by Cafcass, the judge agreed. LA (which had been criticised by GM) argued vs naming. We'll write on this shortly - A (A Child) (Mother killed by Father) caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewfc/2025/374

There was a lot of media coverage back in February of this unusual story of a British teenage boy who’d taken his parents to court to try to get back home to London from Ghana. His parents had tricked him into visiting Ghana in early 2024 where... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=30032

Welcome to the Roundup, where we correct, clarify and comment on media reports of family law, explain and comment on published family court judgments, and highlight other transparency news.  MEDIA COVERAGE OF FAMILY LAW, TRANSPARENCY etc The BBC... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=30007

Good morning from the Central Family Court I’m hoping the no entry sign doesn’t apply to the magistrates hearing I’m hoping to observe today ⛔️

Court of Appeal discharges care orders finding no justification for 'radical interference with family life' | Law Gazette share.google/3dEe2YBOcVfu...

our explainer of the Government decision to repeal the statutory presumption of continuing involvement of both parents and how this relates to addressing a 'pro contact culture'

Section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989, as amended in 2014, states that, with regard to applications for child arrangements orders under Section 8: A court … is as respects each parent … to presume, unless the contrary is shown, that involvement... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29984

the President of the FD is there, and DA Commissioner @commissionerda.bsky.social , Cafcass CEO, Lisa Harker from NFJO @nuffieldfjo.bsky.social

HC Justice Committee taking evidence on family court reform - committees.parliament.uk/event/25375 watch now

we've updated our post about the first Court of Protection judgment published in Welsh - Judgment given and published in Welsh | The Transparency Project share.google/vimLBMnMyFtV... A revised version of the judgment has now been published by The National Archives.

new legal blogging report on care proceedings

Six children, aged between two and twelve, were removed from their parents’ care because they had suffered chronic neglect and emotional harm, after court proceedings that had lasted 28 weeks and local authority involvement for 12 years. I've... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29974

we've updated our post with links to the report and some news coverage - transparencyproject.org.uk/government-a...

Family law shift hailed as victory for children facing domestic abuse

The government is proposing to repeal the statutory presumption, introduced in 2014, that both parents should remain involved in their children’s upbringing following a separation. A report in 2020 suggested it was putting children at risk of domestic abuse. rozenberg.substack.com/p/best-for-t...

Government announces it will repeal the presumption of parental involvement, to help address the family courts 'pro contact culture'

We’ve sent in a series of requests under the Freedom of Information Act about the review of the presumption of parental involvement since the ‘urgent’ review was announced by the government in 2020. We have been asking about the continued delay... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29953

Do you want to observe? It's easy! The court reconvenes at 10:30, and you watch the live stream on this webpage supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2...

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report reflects what we see every day: survivors’ abuse is minimised in the family courts. Urgent reform is needed to keep women and children safe. Read the full report here: bit.ly/4n8pLfc @commissionerda.bsky.social Great summary article below too👇

here's our summary of the new @commissionerda.bsky.social report transparencyproject.org.uk/new-research...

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales (DAC) this week published a report, Everyday Business: Addressing domestic abuse and continuing harm through a family court review and reporting mechanism by Mandy Burton and Rosemary Hunter,... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29930

private hearings and lack of transparency highlighted by Nicole Jacobs @commissionerda.bsky.social in a family court system not set up or resourced to deal with domestic abuse. Balanced discussion on BBC R4 Woman's Hour yesterday 2.45 mins in www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

we're reading this important report but meanwhile here's a good summary and comment @hansummers.bsky.social @tbij.bsky.social Family courts’ failure to tackle domestic abuse laid out in… | TBIJ share.google/aB3C8u5X94Hx...

Still “too many” incidences of non-compliance with Public Law Outline, Presiding Family Judge for London warns share.google/5xOfdL5MgGua...

M & R (Children) (Refusal of Legal Aid Costs) [2025] EWFC 299 (B). Mr Recorder O’Grady. Judgment in private law Children Act 1989 proceedings which addresses how to properly prepare witness statement evidence on behalf of a non-English speaking party. Summary by Emily Lennon of 1 Hare Court.

transparencyproject.org.uk/an-order-for... New on the blog - no contact; continued non molestation order; s 91(14) til child is 18. Complicated by crim trial listed in 2028!

Allocation & Gatekeeping guidance - We'd like more information about the issues in a case to be included in the court lists please, starting with consistent practice in using the Listing Code. This is currently patchy.

This topic was recently covered in a consultation issued by judges that updates guidance to courts on what level of judge or magistrate should sit on a case and generally how applications received will be efficiently administered. The guidance says... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29898

Earlier this month, I attended a private law hearing held at West London Family Court before His Honour Judge O’Donovan. The judge made a transparency order at the beginning of the hearing. There are some unusual aspects to this case, including a... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29903

Welcome to the Roundup, where we correct, clarify and comment on media reports of family law, explain and comment on published family court judgments, and highlight other transparency news. MEDIA COVERAGE OF FAMILY LAW, TRANSPARENCY etc The Financial... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29877

New Court of Protection judgment published in Welsh raises concerns about assessing capacity of an elderly person who has been professionally bilingual.

Thanks to Alex Ruck-Keene who noticed last week that BAILII had published a Court of Protection judgment by HHJ Edwards in Cardiff in the Welsh language. It's TIRE (by her Litigation Friend LK) v Carmarthenshire County Council [2024] EWCOP 81 (T2).... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29861

Updated - our guide 'What to do if a reporter attends or wants to attend your Family Court hearing'. Covers children hearings before judges and as from today, before magistrates, and the Financial Remedy Pilot.

We first published our Guidance Note 'What to do when a reporter attends (or wants to attend) your hearing' in 2023. Later, we updated it to account for the expansion of the Reporting Pilot and introduction of the Financial Remedies Pilot, developing... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29825

Thnx to Judiciary website to our request to make it easier to find out about how & why Family Court judgments are published on @bailii.bsky.social and The National Archives. Our updated post - Will my Family Court judgment be published? share.google/1bMQb8Iya6Hc...

what to do if you want your family court judgment published - new post on the up to date position on judges publishing. Although Google will find the guidance for you, it's a circuitous task if you try the Judiciary website.

This post was amended on 25 September to add a new link on the Judiciary website. We recently received an enquiry from someone who wanted a court judgment in their case to be published and who didn't know how to go about this. [EDITED 22.09.25 to... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29837

interesting to see The Guardian describe the justice system as 'transparent' although not sure how much Lady Hale would agree. New book on her observations of a range of courts www.theguardian.com/law/2025/sep...

Today (Thursday 11 September 2025) at 5.30pm, we are running a small friendly webinar on how to observe (remote) hearings in the Court of Protection. Everyone welcome - if you'd like to join us just send us an email and we'll send you the link.

Reported by Charlie Maloney from Reading Family Court - forced marriage protection order www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/2543316...

British teenager becomes a ward of court to escape from Somalia - new post on this recent High Court judgment.

We spotted this dramatic court judgment published last week although, surprisingly, we’ve not seen any media coverage – Re M (Nationality Based Jurisdiction) [2025] EWHC 1821 (Fam). There are a few similarities with the widely publicised case in... https://transparencyproject.org.uk/?p=29811

update on these care proceedings in Cardiff Family Court - child will continue to live with grandparents as foster carers, under a care order.