The council had taken the applicant’s children into care alleging that the mother had harmed them. In the light of the subsequent cases casting doubt on such findings, the mother sought the return of her children. She applied now that the hearings be in public.
Held: The applicant and her solicitors had already made significant disclosures and had been very much less than candid with the court about what they had done. The starting point was that proceedings about children should be in private. Parents dissatisfied with court proceedings must be able to voice their doubts, and courts are not immune to significant error. Papers should be disclosed to the GMC subject to safeguards. The court identified which elements of children’s cases were disclosable without the consent of the court. It was wrong to await an appeal hearing before conducting the delicate balancing exercise on disclosure. Orders were made rstricting publication of some elemments and consenting to others. ‘section 12 of the 1960 Act applies equally whether the dissemination of information or documents is to a journalist or to a Member of Parliament, a Minister of the Crown, a Law Officer, or any other public body or public official, that the Minister of State for Children is not a child protection professional, and that disclosure to the Minister of State cannot therefore be justified on the footing of the exception to the general principle recognised in In re M. Put shortly, a government department has no right to see a family court file and needs leave from a judge to do so. ‘
Munby said: ‘I need to emphasise that there is a ‘publication’ for [the] purpose [of AJA 1960 section 12] whether the dissemination of information or documents is to a journalist, a Minister of the Crown, a Law Officer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Crown Prosecution Service, the police (except when exercising child protection functions), the GMC, or any other public body or public official.’ The law and practice of the family courts is a matter in which the public has a genuine and proper interest: ‘The workings of the family justice system and, very importantly, the views about the system of . . (those) . . caught up in it are . . matters of public interest which can and should be discussed publicly.
We cannot afford to proceed on the blinkered assumption that there have been no miscarriages of justice in the family justice system. This is something that has to be addressed with honesty and candour if the family justice system is not to suffer further loss of public confidence. Open and public debate in the media is essential.’
Judges:
Mr Justice Munby
Citations:
[2004] EWHC 411 (Fam), [2004] 2 FLR 142, [2004] EWHC Fam 411, [2004] Lloyds Rep Med 303
Links:
Statutes:
Family Proceedings Rules 1991 4.16(7), Administration of Justice Act 1960 12, Children Act 1989 97(2)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Scott v Scott HL 5-May-1913
Presumption in Favour of Open Proceedings
There had been an unauthorised dissemination by the petitioner to third parties of the official shorthand writer’s notes of a nullity suit which had been heard in camera. An application was made for a committal for contempt.
Held: The House . .
Cited – Regina v Clark CACD 2-Oct-2000
. .
Cited – Regina v Sally Clark CACD 11-Apr-2003
The defendant appealed against her conviction for the murder of her two infant children by, in the one case, smothering and, in the other, suffocation. Amongst the experts called at her trial by the Crown was Professor Sir Roy Meadow. The . .
Cited – Regina v Angela Cannings CACD 19-Jan-2004
The defendant had been convicted of murdering her children. The substance of the evidence against her was that on a medical expert. His evidence was disputed and later doubted.
Held: Appeal allowed. In general courts should be careful to . .
Cited – In Re W (Minors) (Social Worker: Disclosure); Re W (Disclosure to Police) CA 26-Mar-1998
A social worker may disclose admissions made during investigation into child abuse, to the police without the court’s permission, where the information had not been incorporated in the welfare report filed at the court. The rule (against disclosure) . .
Cited – P v BW (Children Cases: Hearings in Public) FD 2003
The applicant sought a joint residence order, and for a declaration that the rules preventing such hearings being in public breached the requirement for a public hearing.
Held: Both FPR 1991 rule 4.16(7) and section 97 are compatible with the . .
Cited – In re de Beaujeu’s Application ChD 1949
Publication of the content of wardship proceedings, against the direction of the judge prohibiting publication, was a contempt of court. Wynn-Parry J said: ‘In my judgment in proceedings involving wards of court the judge has a complete discretion . .
Cited – In re F (otherwise A ) (A Minor) (Publication of Information) CA 1977
An allegation of contempt was made in proceedings related to the publication by a newspaper of extracts from a report by a social worker and a report by the Official Solicitor, both prepared after the commencement and for the purpose of the wardship . .
Cited – X v Dempster FD 9-Nov-1998
The columnist Nigel Dempster had written that the mother in forthcoming proceedings relating to a child was a bad mother.
Held: The article was a contempt of court. Such an allegation required proof to the criminal standard. At common law the . .
Cited – British Broadcasting Corporation v Kelly FD 9-Aug-2000
The interview for television of a child ward of court who had gone to live with members of a religious sect was not necessarily a contempt of court. There are three groups of ways in which a ward’s interests can be protected. First where the . .
Cited – Re L (A Minor) (Wardship: Freedom of Publication) FD 1988
The mere fact that a child is known to be a ward of court is not sufficient to make any publication identifying the child a contempt of court. . .
Cited – Re W (Wards) (Publication of Information) FD 1989
An injunction was given to prohibit wards of court being named during the Cleveland child abuse inquiry. A summary of what has been said in court and written before hand in statements and reports are as much prohibited from publication as are direct . .
Cited – In Re G (Minors) (Celebrities: Publicity) CA 4-Nov-1998
Where extra publicity might attach to proceedings because of the celebrity of the parents, it was wrong to attach extra restrictions on reporting without proper cause. There remains a need to balance the need for the freedom of speech and the . .
Cited – Mapp v News Group Newspapers Limited; Gillan v News Group Newspapers Limited and similar CA 27-Feb-1997
The judge is to consider the range of meanings of words and decide if they are capable of having a defamatory meaning. Meaning is not a job for the jury: ‘In my judgment, the proper role for the judge, when adjudicating a question under Ord.82,r.3A, . .
Cited – Official Solicitor v News Group Newspapers FD 1994
There had been a conviction of a nurse for multiple murders. The defendant was approached by a third party and published evidence taken from children’s proceedings.
Held: The defendant was guilty of contempt. . .
Cited – Pickering v Liverpool Daily Post and Echo Newspapers plc HL 1991
Damages were awarded for a breach of statutory duty where the claimant had suffered loss or damage by reason of the breach. The publication at issue went beyond reporting and ‘it reached deeply into the substance of the matter which the court had . .
Cited – In re Manda CA 1993
A wardship court can extend its protection beyond the age of majority where a public interest was identified that required it. Whilst those who give evidence in child proceedings can normally assume that their evidence will remain confidential, they . .
Cited – In re M (a Child) (Disclosure: Children and Family Reporter) CA 31-Jul-2002
A Children and Family reporter became concerned at the possibility of abuse of children as a result of information gained whilst involved in private law proceedings. He sought to report those concerns to the statutory authorities. It had become . .
Cited – In Re C (A Minor) (Care Proceedings: Disclosure); Re EC (Disclosure of Material) CA 22-Oct-1996
Guidance was to the courts on disclosure of care proceedings statements etc to police. But for section 12 it would have been contempt of court to have disclosed to the police matters before the children’s court. . .
Cited – In re Z (A Minor) (Identification: Restrictions on Publication) CA 31-Jul-1995
The court was asked whether the daughter of Cecil Parkinson and Sarah Keays should be permitted to take part in a television programme about the specialist help she was receiving for her special educational needs.
Held: The court refused to . .
Cited – A County Council v W and others (Disclosure) FD 1997
In the absence of section 12 it would be contempt to disclose matter before a children’s court to the General Medical Council. . .
Cited – Brown v Matthews CA 1990
There is a public interest in encouraging the frank and ready co-operation from people as diverse as doctors, school teachers, neighbours, the child in question, the parents themselves, and other close relations, including other children in the same . .
Cited – In re S (A Child) (Identification: Restrictions on Publication) CA 10-Jul-2003
An order was sought to protect from publicity a child whose mother faced trial for the murder of his brother. The child was now in care.
Held: The court must balance the need to protect the child with the need for freedom of the press. The . .
Cited – A Health Authority v X (Discovery: Medical Conduct) FD 2001
There is a compelling public interest in authorising the disclosure of documents to the General Medical Council if they ‘are or may be relevant to the General Medical Council carrying out its statutory duties to protect the public against possible . .
Cited – A Health Authority v X (Discovery: Medical Conduct) CA 2001
The court considered whether papers in a children’s case should be made available to the GMC: ‘There is obviously a high public interest, analogous to the public interest in the due administration of criminal justice, in the proper administration of . .
Cited – Re D (Minors) (Wardship: Disclosure) CA 1994
The most important factor pointing against disclosure, other than the interests of the child involved is ‘the importance of confidentiality in wardship proceedings and the frankness which it engenders in those who give evidence to the wardship . .
Cited – In Re R (A Minor) (Wardship: Restraint of Publication) CA 25-Apr-1994
In a criminal case involving a ward of court, the judge in the criminal case may restrict the reporting without leaving it for the wardship Judge. The jurisdiction of the High Court in cases involving the care and upbringing of children over whose . .
Cited – Clibbery v Allan and Another FD 2-Jul-2001
There is nothing inherently different in Family Division proceedings to justify an implied ban on all disclosures of matters proceeding in chambers. Here no children or other sensitive matters were involved. The simple filing of an affidavit . .
Cited – Allan v Clibbery (1) CA 30-Jan-2002
Save in cases involving children and ancillary and other situations requiring it, cases in the family division were not inherently private. The appellant failed to obtain an order that details of an action under the section should not be disclosed . .
Cited – Z v Finland ECHR 25-Feb-1997
A defendant had appealed against his conviction for manslaughter and related offences by deliberately subjecting women to the risk of being infected by him with HIV virus. The applicant, Z, had been married to the defendant, and infected by him with . .
Cited – B v The United Kingdom; P v The United Kingdom ECHR 24-Apr-2001
The procedures in English law which provided for privacy for proceedings involving children did not in general infringe the human right to family life, nor the right to a public hearing. Where relatives more distant than immediate parties were . .
Cited – Re Angela Roddy (a child) (identification: restriction on publication), Torbay Borough Council v News Group Newspapers FD 2-Dec-2003
A twelve year old girl had become pregnant. The Catholic Church was said to have paid her not to have an abortion. After the birth she and her baby were taken into care. The authority proposed the adoption of the baby. There was more publicity. . .
Cited – Axen v Germany ECHR 8-Dec-1983
‘The public character of proceedings before the judicial bodies referred to in Article 6(1) protects litigants against the administration of justice in secret with no public scrutiny; it is also one of the means whereby confidence in the courts, . .
Cited – P v BW (Children Cases: Hearings in Public) FD 2003
The applicant sought a joint residence order, and for a declaration that the rules preventing such hearings being in public breached the requirement for a public hearing.
Held: Both FPR 1991 rule 4.16(7) and section 97 are compatible with the . .
Cited – In re W (Wardship: Discharge: Publicity) CA 1995
Four wards of court aged between nine and 14 had given an interview to a newspaper reporter, who plainly knew that they were wards of court, in circumstances which clearly troubled both the Official Solicitor, their guardian ad litem, who . .
Cited – Re L (Care: Assessment: Fair Trial) FD 2002
The court emphasised the need, in the interests not merely of the parent but also of the child, of a transparently fair and open procedure at all stages of the care process, including the making of documents openly available to parents.
Munby . .
Cited – Prager And Oberschlick v Austria ECHR 26-Apr-1995
Article 10 requires that journalists be permitted a good deal of latitude in how they present their material and that a degree of exaggeration must also be accepted. The media have a special place in any democratic society as purveyor of information . .
Cited – Re X (Non-Accidental Injury: Expert Evidence) FD 11-Apr-2001
A child had been injured, and the local authority sought a care order. An expert witness for the parents had argued that the child may have suffered a condition of Temporary Brittle Bone Disease (TBBD).
Held: Though the parents had been . .
Cited – Worm v Austria ECHR 29-Aug-1997
ECHR Preliminary objection rejected (six month period); No violation of Art. 10 – ‘The phrase ‘authority of the judiciary’ includes, in particular, the notion that the courts are, and are accepted by the public . .
Cited – Regina v Secretary of State for The Home Department Ex Parte Simms HL 8-Jul-1999
Ban on Prisoners talking to Journalists unlawful
The two prisoners, serving life sentences for murder, had had their appeals rejected. They continued to protest innocence, and sought to bring their campaigns to public attention through the press, having oral interviews with journalists without . .
Cited – In Re A (A Minor) (Disclosure of Medical Records to GMC) FD 21-Aug-1998
Applications by the General Medical Council for court records in order to pursue professional misconduct proceeding, should follow new routine of having two court hearings, ex parte appointment and on notice rather than previous three stages system. . .
Cited – In re W (A Minor) (Wardship: Restrictions on Publication) CA 1992
The court considered the risks of a child being identified despite restrictions on disclosure: ‘It is to be anticipated that in almost every case the public interest in favour of publication can be satisfied without any identification of the ward to . .
Cited – B (A Child); Re C (Welfare of Child: Immunisation) CA 30-Jul-2003
The father sought a specific issue order for the immunisation of his child in particular with the MMR vaccine. The mother opposed all immunisation.
Held: Whether a child was to be refused immunisation was an issue on which both parents should . .
Cited – B (A Child); Re C (Welfare of Child: Immunisation) CA 30-Jul-2003
The father sought a specific issue order for the immunisation of his child in particular with the MMR vaccine. The mother opposed all immunisation.
Held: Whether a child was to be refused immunisation was an issue on which both parents should . .
Cited by:
Cited – F v M FD 1-Apr-2004
The court considered the ‘ongoing debate’ about the court’s role in contact disputes. ‘this case illustrates all too uncomfortably the failings of the system. There is much wrong with our system and the time has come for us to recognise that fact . .
Cited – Pelling v Bruce-Williams, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs intervening CA 5-Jul-2004
The applicant sought an order that his application for a joint residence order should be held in public.
Held: Though there was some attractiveness in the applicant’s arguments, the issue had been fully canvassed by the ECHR. The time had come . .
Cited – O and others (Children); In re O (Children), In re W-R (a Child), In re W (Children) CA 22-Jun-2005
In each case litigants in person had sought to be allowed to have the assistance and services of a Mackenzie friend in children cases. In one case, the court had not allowed confidential documents to be disclosed to the friend.
Held: The . .
Cited – British Broadcasting Company v Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and X and Y FD 24-Nov-2005
Application was made by the claimant for orders discharging an order made in 1991 to protect the identity of children and social workers embroiled in allegations of satanic sex abuse. The defendant opposed disclosure of the names of two social . .
Cited – British Broadcasting Company v Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council and X and Y FD 24-Nov-2005
Application was made by the claimant for orders discharging an order made in 1991 to protect the identity of children and social workers embroiled in allegations of satanic sex abuse. The defendant opposed disclosure of the names of two social . .
Cited – Norfolk County Council v Webster and others FD 1-Nov-2006
The claimants wished to claim that they were victims of a miscarriage of justice in the way the Council had dealt with care proceedings. They sought that the proceedings should be reported without the children being identified.
Held: A judge . .
Cited – Norfolk County Council v Webster and others FD 17-Nov-2006
There had been care proceedings following allegations of physical child abuse. There had been a residential assessment. The professionals accepted the parents’ commitment to their son, but also found that they were unreliable. It was recommended . .
Cited – British Broadcasting Corporation v CAFCASS Legal and others FD 30-Mar-2007
Parents of a child had resisted care proceedings, and now wished the BBC to be able to make a TV programme about their case. They applied to the court for the judgment to be released. Applications were also made to have a police officer’s and . .
Cited – Doctor A and Others v Ward and Another FD 8-Jan-2010
Parents wished to publicise the way care proceedings had been handled, naming the doctors, social workers and experts some of whom had been criticised. Their names had been shown as initials so far, and interim contra mundum orders had been made . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Children, Media
Updated: 17 May 2022; Ref: scu.194844