The number of published family law judgments which are made available to the public has decreased since 2015, but the media is picking up the slack, and bringing more cases to an international audience.
Research by family law blogger John Bolch suggests that the number of published judgments for family law cases are diminishing year-on-year, after an initial spike in publications which took place shortly after guidance was issued on transparency in 2014 by the then President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby.
According to John, there were 734 published judgments in 2013, 773 published judgments in 2014, 575 in 2016, 501 in 2017, 473 in 2018, and 444 in 2019 so far.
In his post, John claims that the decrease in published family law judgments is down to a lack of enthusiasm by the judiciary, and that the “experiment” as he puts it, has failed. He also takes the view that the judgments have not helped the public to understand the issues or the family courts any better, because the public continues to view the system sceptically.
We do not agree with any of this logic.
The number of judgments has dropped because judges don’t have the time to write them, and perhaps, because judges might not always be sure that their reasoning is sound.
The public have engaged deeply with these cases and their scepticism remains, and we would say has increased because they have come to the conclusion, like those of us campaigning for change, that the system is not fit for purpose.
And while judges may not be able to write judgments for the public, both national and international media have increased their reporting of family law related cases, with some even dedicating entire sections to the subject, like The Independent, The Guardian and The Law Gazette.
The Transparency Guidance paved the way for insight into the family courts and allowed the world to see how judgments were made. Most importantly, it gave journalists the ability to report on stories that mattered.
That appetite for reporting has not waned, with family cases often making the headlines. As children continue to take center stage in politics, law and human rights, that appetite is only set to increase.
Many thanks to Dana for alerting us to John’s post.
Researching Reform 
If a judgement can’t be shouted from the rooftops then it’s likely the reasoning behind it isn’t sound & couldn’t take public scrutiny.
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Case i attended , the manger social worker didnt get his own way, he lost his temper by bashing his hips with his hands and threats to the judge either agree to what he demands or children will be sent for full care orders. Case stopped then and there. Council was told to pay full court costs of everyone there for that day And stories should have happy endings where children are concerned. Next day the court case collapsed why becase a brave social worker stood up and told the judge the case against this family was a pact of lies by social workers and all the children went home to where they should have always been, with mum and dad.
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What a brave social worker all respect to her for having the courage to do that. If all social workers told the truth. We wouldn’t have thousands, of miscarriages of justice occurring.
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Mothers have their babies snatched at
Birth for future risk of emotional abuse and are jailed if they protest publicly when their babies
Are adopted by strangers.
How can anyone have confidence in such a cruel and anti democratic system ? If
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I am an innocent victim of a ‘Great ‘Miscarriage of Justice’. The biased Judge colluded and ‘Abused her Powers’ after incriminating herself in Judgments. She then chose not to publish that Judgement and hides an earlier honest Judge’s Judgement so, I agree with Munby’s statement which is “perhaps, because judges might not always be sure that their reasoning is sound”.
I have NOT seen my son in almost 7 years and I never will again because of Gender Inequality. Everything backfired anyways but, the door is bolted tightly. Where is the Human Rights and how can this be humane in a so-called Democratic Society??
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I have a case where the Mum stated. The social worker ordered the hospital to carry out a removal 6 weeks early by cicerian . Baby taken straight into waiting taxie, no incubator. Believe found that child, now disabled. Shamefull whats gone on, yet these crimes against babies and mothers goes on and on, not one goverment minister all parties addresses it. Not one lawyer in goverment addresses it. Not one MP. I gather now we still live in the 1800s, people classed as less worthy.
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Exactly Alan, Ian and Dana, the professionals who are trained in this field violates their ethics even though they know deep down inside “It is WRONG” but, they still do it. I believe that they should a “FREE” Family Press who exposes Family Injustice Cases and then maybe, they will act right. They {Judges, Councils and Advocates and others} act without respect/feelings for Human Beings and they are so highly paid. When will this atrocity end??
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It will never end all the time big bussiness trades in childrens lives.
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What makes it worse is the Presidents’ gives speeches on the poor state of Family law sometimes and gives a tiny covert criticism but, nothing ever comes out of it therefore, why make the criticisms in the first place? And they have the power ask Judges to be impartial and act right and raise the issue with the MOJ.
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A particularly harrowing ruling (suitably redacted) can be downloaded from this blog:
Click to access cardiff-court-ruling-2013-feb-22nd-transcript-section-b1-pages-43-68-26-pages-redacted-22nd-feb-2018-plus-resource-infos.pdf
In a ‘Child Smuggling’ operation a mother who survived incestuous abuse from birth to age 20 was ‘set up’ by inadequate (compromised?) authority representatives to lose custody of her toddler.
How? She was briefed by a police officer to delay any sexual assault because it would jeopardise an ‘Undercover Police Operation’. Three adults in their prime of life found a violent death in the six months that followed. Then a stalking and defamation campaign ensued. Finally, 12 months after the manipulative briefing the toddler got assaulted by his grandfather. A Psychiatrist diagnosed the mother as ‘delusional’ was a ‘family friend’ – turns out he was seemingly involved in several abuse acts over 15 years. In spite of a complaint he remains at the same clinic in Wales practising as a NHS Psychiatrist.
Why? Because the mother reportedly had a baby at 13/14 that resulted from incestuous abuse and ‘disappeared’. So they had to ‘destroy’ her – with the added benefit of taking control of the off-spring (the only ‘heir’ in an aristocratic blood line).
Read about it in the redacted judgement and corresponding blog entries!
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