James Copson: Common Sense Prevails

The recent anonymised judgment in A v A [2012] has come as a welcome relief to divorcing spouses and to professionals involved in financial remedy proceedings. Individuals' private financial affairs revealed under compulsion through the courts can now ordinarily expect to remain confidential.

 Although financial remedy proceedings are heard in private the media can attend all such proceedings (except FDRs) and will not be excluded from them unless a Rule 27.11 exception applies. Those exceptions are that exclusion is appropriate in the interests of a child for the safety or protection of a party a witness or other connected person for the orderly conduct of proceedings or in case justice will otherwise be impeded or prejudiced.

 However the decision in A v A whilst emphasising the importance of open justice following the opening of the family courts to the media in 2009 made it clear that the role of the media will usually be limited to that of the public's watchdog reporting only on how the family justice system works and...

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