Previously a transparency sceptic, family lawyer and former judge Peggy Ray now supports moves to open up the family courts to public and media scrutiny – albeit with some reservations.
Announcing the opening up of all family courts to journalists and bloggers, following a successful pilot, the president of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, described it as ‘a watershed moment for family justice’.
Reporters can now attend court to cover proceedings, request documents and speak to, and quote, people involved. Under the new open reporting provisions, there is a presumption that a transparency order, protecting the anonymity of the children and their families, is granted unless there is a legitimate reason not to.
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