| | | You are here: Home >> Press Section >> Rules for family law reporting of interest in Irish legal circles | | | | Rules for family law reporting of interest in Irish legal circles | The Irish Times, 3rd October 2011
by CAROL COULTER, Legal Affairs Editor | | | A guide to reporting on family law proceedings in England and Wales has been welcomed by lawyers and journalists
IN ENGLAND and Wales, members of the media may attend family law proceedings held “in private”, although members of the public may not. Some information about the proceedings, but not everything that happens in court, may be reported, according to a new guide on family law reporting in England and Wales. Different rules apply in Scotland.
The identity of those involved in family law proceedings, a concise statement of the charges and counter-charges, submissions on any point of law and the court’s summing up and rulings may be published in the vast majority of cases, the guide states.
The guide, compiled by two barristers and drawing together both statute law and case law, has just been published jointly by the president of the family division of the high court of England and Wales, the Judicial College and the Society of Editors. It does not include the recent proposals in the Children Schools and Families Act 2010 which, though passed by the last British government, have yet to be enacted.
The guide is a useful summary for lawyers and journalists of who can attend proceedings concerning families and children, both between private individuals and those involving the state, and steers a path through the labyrinthine procedures in the courts at different levels.
It is of interest to Irish lawyers and journalists as the Irish legal system parallels that in England and Wales in many areas, and English case law is often argued in Irish courts, particularly in relation to family law.
The guide points out that family law proceedings in the higher courts are normally held in open court, but most proceedings take place in the family proceedings court (similar to our District Court), the county court (the equivalent of our Circuit Court) and the family division of the high court. These are all heard “in private”, described in earlier rules as “in chambers”.
However, the authors add: “Duly accredited members of the media are entitled to attend hearings of family proceedings held in private in the family division, the county court and family proceedings courts, subject to the power to exclude them on specific grounds.”
“Duly accredited members of the media” are journalists with an appropriate press card.
There are exceptions to their right to attend, including judicially assisted conciliation or negotiation, financial dispute resolution hearings and hearings in Children Act cases where the judge plays an active part.
Other types of proceedings where the media do not have the right to attend include hearings in adoption cases, parental order applications (relating to assisted human reproduction) and hearings in the court of protection, which deals with people suffering from a mental incapacity and unable to deal with their own affairs.
The court can order the media to be excluded from proceedings if this is in the interests of a child involved, for the safety or protection of a party or witness or for the orderly conduct of the proceedings. However, the court should establish that this is necessary and should first consider whether lesser measures would suffice.
Attendance at the proceedings does not automatically mean that a report may be published and there are separate rules governing what can and cannot be published. The names, addresses and photographs of those involved in the proceedings, including expert witnesses, may be published, along with a description of the nature of the dispute and the outcome or orders. However, evidence given in court, reports and written submissions may not.
For example, the existence of a dispute about custody of and access to a child could be published, along with the court’s decision, but not allegations made by one party against another in opposition to the granting of custody or access.
Judgments can generally be published, although those delivered in private will be subject to restrictions applicable to reporting cases in general.
In cases involving children being taken into care under Britain’s Children Act 1989 or proceedings under the Adoption Act, no material which could identify the child may be published, but this prohibition only lasts for the duration of the proceedings. At the end of the proceedings, the court may order the identity of the child to continue to be protected. It will be a matter for the individual judge whether to make his or her judgment publicly available, and whether it will be anonymised.
Adoption proceedings are not absolutely required to be heard in private, but the guide comments that it is unlikely the court would exercise its discretion to permit the media attend. The same applies to proceedings under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.
| | | | | | |  For further information, please contact Marion Campbell Solicitors by calling (01) 475 9345, or by filling out an on-line enquiry form. |
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