{"id":47641,"date":"2026-03-30T18:09:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T18:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=47641"},"modified":"2026-03-30T18:09:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T18:09:44","slug":"the-guardian-view-on-family-justice-transparency-should-help-a-flawed-system-to-improve-editorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=47641","title":{"rendered":"The Guardian view on family justice: transparency should help a flawed system to improve | Editorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

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O<\/span>pening up family courts in England and Wales to journalists was never intended to solve all their problems. This is a public service that, like so many others, is chronically overloaded and underfunded. While the number of children in council care fell slightly last year, the figure of 81,770 in England was still 16% higher than a decade ago. Recent increases in legal aid fees applied only to immigration, housing and\u00a0criminal cases \u2013 leaving family lawyers out.<\/p>\n

But new rules about what can be reported are an important legacy of the court\u2019s president, Sir\u00a0Andrew\u00a0McFarlane, who retired on Monday. These apply both to public law cases, involving care proceedings, and private law cases, which are usually\u00a0disputes between couples. Following the national rollout of transparency orders, which enable\u00a0reporters and legal bloggers to write about cases\u00a0as long as they protect anonymity, his successor\u00a0\u2013\u00a0who is yet to be announced \u2013 will inherit a\u00a0more open family justice system.<\/p>\n

Cuts by news organisations mean that there is less court reporting overall than there used to be. Most family hearings continue as before, with no one present apart from the parties, witnesses, lawyers and court staff. But it matters that these cases are no longer off-limits to journalists because of the signal this sends that the public has a right to know about them. The push for transparency can also be linked to reforms including new rules on the use of expert witnesses. Awareness of the system\u2019s flaws has helped to ensure that they are addressed \u2013 although there are concerns about the emphasis placed on overcoming\u00a0delays. As Lisa Harker of Nuffield Family Justice Observatory points out, good decisions are better than speedy ones.<\/p>\n

In an interview to mark his last day in the job, Sir Andrew focused on a project affecting private law cases. In \u201cchild-focused courts\u201d, information gathering takes place at an earlier stage with a view to reducing conflict and improving outcomes. As with transparency, pilot schemes in several areas produced promising results, though a successful rollout will depend on the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) being able to recruit sufficient social workers to write the high-quality reports that courts need.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming changes relate to expert witnesses and parental rights. Alison Levitt, a justice minister, has signalled her support for new rules on the use of court-appointed experts. These are being reviewed by a judicial committee after a landmark case in which evidence on \u201cparental alienation\u201d, which led to a mother losing contact with her children, was overturned. Lady Levitt\u2019s recognition of the ways in which women are badly served by the family courts is welcome, although the presumption of both parents\u2019 involvement in a child\u2019s life will not be repealed \u2013 as promised by ministers in recognition of the harm this can cause when one parent, usually a father, is a domestic abuser \u2013 if the courts and tribunals bill does not pass before the end of this parliament.<\/p>\n

Family court judgments can be finely balanced and extremely difficult. Lack of resources, especially the removal of legal aid in private law cases, makes reaching the right ones even harder. There are some grounds for hope of gradual improvement, and a shift towards greater openness\u00a0and accountability. But openness alone cannot repair a system under strain.<\/p>\n