Transparency pilot opens financial remedies proceedings to media

Financial remedies proceedings will be able to be reported on in three courts in the latest move to improve transparency in the family court.

Journalists and legal bloggers will be able to report on financial remedies proceedings in the Financial Remedies Court as part of the reporting pilot launched by president of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane.

The FRC reporting pilot will cover the Central Family Court, Birmingham and Leeds.

It is the latest announcement following Sir Andrew’s ‘Transparency in the Family Court’ review, published in 2021, which is ‘committed to achieving better and purposeful transparency in the family court, to increase understanding and scrutiny of the system’.

As part of the pilot, cause lists for all FRC courts, including cases heard at the Royal Courts of Justice, will name the parties and state that the proceedings involve financial remedies.

Financial dispute resolution hearings will not be included.

FRC proceedings centre on financial issues, including financial support for children, that need to be resolved following the breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership. Financial dispute resolution hearings are, and will remain confidential, and cannot be attended by the media nor can what happens in the court be referred to publicly under court rules.

The FRC reporting pilot will start from 29 January 2024.

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