Munby issues draft guidance on transparency in family and CoP proceedings

More written judgments of the family courts and the Court of Protection will be made available to journalists, and the naming of experts and local authorities would be allowed in more cases, under draft guidance issued by the President of the Family Division today.

In his latest View from the President’s Chamber, Sir James Munby said the identities of children would continue to be protected.

The President reiterated his desire to take steps to improve access to and reporting of family proceedings, repeating his comments from 2012 that he was “determined that the new Family Court should not be saddled, as the family courts are at present, with the charge that we are a system of secret and unaccountable justice”.

Sir James added in his latest update: “The law is highly technical and far too complex. The need for reform has been recognised for at least 20 years. Too little has been done."

The judge has proposed an incremental approach, with draft Guidance on the Publication of Judgments issued for discussion.

This will be followed by further guidance and in due course more formal practice directions and changes to the Court of Protection Rules 2007 and the Family Procedure Rules 2010.

The draft said the guidance was intended to bring about an “immediate and significant” change in practice in relation to the publication of judgments in family courts and the CoP.

It added: “At present too few judgments are made available to the public, which has a legitimate interest in being able to read what is being done by the judges in its name.”

The President said his starting point was for the same rules and principles should apply in both the family courts and the CoP.

More information and access to the draft guidance can be obtained here.