Transparency in the family courts

• The intimate nature of the disputes that arise in family courts make the balance of individual confidentiality and the transparency to the public a thorny issue.
• The president of the Family Division has produced a roadmap on how to achieve openness and confidentiality.

Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the Family Division, published his much-anticipated report about opening up the family courts to greater transparency and reporting last month.

Entitled ‘Confidence and confidentiality: transparency in the family courts’, it is clear from the outset that the recommendations set out represent a significant shift in direction for the family court. Many have referred to it as a complete change in culture.

Transparency & confidentiality

The report does not skirt around the difficulties in opening up the family courts to greater transparency. After all, how to manage the tension between doing just that while maintaining confidentiality for individuals has been the debate that has raged for