A deadline of summer 2021 has been set for publication of the final copy of the Family Division’s Transparency Review on media access and reporting in the Family Court, which was launched in May 2019.
Giving evidence to the review panel last week, retired judge Clifford Bellamy said the description of the Family Court as a ‘secret’ court has undermined public trust, but repeated attempts to open up the court during the past 20 years have failed. In 2009, new rules permitted accredited journalists to attend the court, but not to report what they saw and heard.
