Judge’s sperm donor warning over man who ‘fathered 180 children’ – BBC News

‘A sperm donor who claims to have fathered more than 180 children has been used by a judge to warn of the dangers of unregulated sperm donation.’

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BBC News, 11th February 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judges who oversaw Sara Sharif’s family court cases before her murder named – The Independent

‘Three judges who oversaw Sara Sharif’s family court cases before she was murdered by her father and stepmother have now been named by a court. Judge Alison Raeside, Judge Peter Nathan and Judge Sally Williams were named on Friday as the three judges who were all involved in family court proceedings related to the care of the 10-year-old between 2013 and 2019 after a Court of Appeal ruling overturned a ban on the media identifying them.’

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The Independent, 31st January 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Journalists win appeal over naming of judges who decided historic care proceedings relating to Sara Sharif – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal brought by two journalists against a judge’s decision to order the anonymisation of the names of the circuit judges that had decided historic care proceedings relating to Sara Sharif, who was murdered by her father and step-mother in 2023.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th January 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Press now allowed to report from family courts – BBC News

‘Journalists can now report from family courts in England and Wales in what the UK’s most senior family judge has called a “watershed” change.’

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BBC News, 27th January 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Southport attack: why is so much information being published only now? – The Guardian

‘Axel Rudakubana, 18, on Monday pleaded guilty to the murders of three young girls – Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine – and the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last summer. He also admitted producing the biological toxin ricin, and possessing a terrorist handbook about al-Qaida. The guilty pleas have triggered a deluge of new information about the teenage attacker and how he had been known to the authorities before the atrocity on 29 July last year. It has also prompted searching questions about how the state failed to stop the attack – and whether there has been a cover-up. Here we answer some of the key questions about the Southport attack.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Court of Appeal hears challenge to High Court ban on naming judges in Sara Sharif family case – Law Society’s Gazette

‘An order made by a High Court judge to restrain the naming of judges who sat in proceedings concerning the late Sara Sharif, who was murdered by her father and stepmother, infringed upon the principle of open justice ‘in a manner that is without any known precedent’, the Court of Appeal heard today.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 14th January 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Transparency board calls for judicial review hearings to be broadcast – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Transparency and Open Justice Board has recommended that Administrative Court hearings should be broadcast in an effort to boost open justice.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th January 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Family Court reporting provisions to extend to all family courts in England and Wales – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Family Court reporting pilot is to be rolled out nationally from Monday 27 January through changes to the Family Procedure Rules.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th January 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Anonymity orders: the view from the coalface following PMC v A Local Health Board [2024] EWHC 2969 (KB) – 12 KBW

‘In this blog post, Finn Selman, pupil barrister at 12KBW, analyses the judgment in PMC v A Local Health Board [2024] EWHC 2969 (KB) and discusses how anonymity orders are approached in practice, in the experience of various members of chambers. It is recommended reading for those representing protected parties or those seeking anonymity orders.’

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12 KBW, 2nd January 2025

Source: 12kbw.co.uk

Landmark new rules to bring transparency to family courts – BBC News

‘Journalists and legal bloggers are to be allowed to report on family court cases across England and Wales from early next year.’

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BBC News, 20th December 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Are anonymity orders involving protected parties in peril? – 7BR

Posted December 5th, 2024 in anonymity, children, elderly, mental health, news, reporting restrictions by tracey

‘The very detailed judgment citing the extensive caselaw in this area in the case of PMC (a child by his mother and litigation friend FLR) v A Local Health Board on 22nd November 2024 [2024] EWHC 2969 (KB) could have very important implications for what solicitors should do when issuing proceedings and particularly those proceedings involving protected parties.’

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7BR, 29th November 2024

Source: www.7br.co.uk

Keep out! When justice cannot be seen to be done, how do we know it’s been done? – Transparency Project

‘Magistrates’ courts conducting family justice are now part of the Family Court, established in 2014, and subject to the same rules as those presided over by district, circuit and High Court judges. Under those rules, accredited media reporters and ‘legal bloggers’ (see below) are entitled to attend hearings even if they take place in private, though they can’t report anything without the court’s permission.’

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Transparency Project, 24th September 2024

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

Absence of Authority? – Financial Remedies Journal

‘In G v S (Family Law Act 1996: Publicity) [2024] EWFC 231 (B) (6 June 2024) HHJ Reardon asked:

“What is the default position in terms of publication in a case where s 12 [of the Administration of Justice Act 1969] does not apply?”’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 1st September 2024

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

Why we don’t know what’s going on in family courts – Transparency Project

Posted August 14th, 2024 in anonymity, families, family courts, news, reporting restrictions, statistics by sally

‘We hear a lot about ‘secret’ family courts because of reporting restrictions and family privacy, but there is more to genuine transparency than holding processes out in the open. To understand how a system is operating we need information based on reliable data across that system.’

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Transparency Project, 14th August 2024

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

Teenager detained for life for murdering boy, 15 – BBC News

‘A 15-year-old boy who murdered Leeds teenager Alfie Lewis in a knife attack outside a primary school has been detained for life with a minimum term of 13 years.’

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BBC News, 21st June 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Wolverhampton guilty verdicts raise issue of naming child killers – The Guardian

‘Some believe naming convicted children acts as deterrent, while others say it could glorify horrific acts.’

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The Guardian, 15th June 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge allows reporting of case where DNA tests established that three abandoned babies were full sibliings – Local Government Lawyer

‘A newborn baby abandoned in Newham, East London, has been found – following DNA testing – to be the third child abandoned by the same parents.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th June 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Supreme Court hears appeals over reporting restriction orders in withdrawal of treatment cases – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Supreme Court is this week hearing an appeal over the discharge of reporting restriction orders (RROs) protecting the identity of medical professionals involved in the care of patients in respect of whom an application to withdraw treatment had been made.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th April 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Paedophiles could be stripped of parental rights under new law – BBC News

‘Paedophiles convicted of serious sexual offences could lose parental rights over their children under a new law.’

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BBC News, 17th April 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Brianna Ghey: Why teenagers who killed her can be named – BBC News

‘Two teenagers who murdered 16-year-old Brianna Ghey after devising a “kill list” of children to target will be named for the first time today.’

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BBC News, 2nd February 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk