Press Gazette have reported that Justice Secretary Jack Straw has announced that family courts will be opened up to journalists from next April in an attempt to make them more transparent.
This change will mean that journalists will be able to sit in on all divorce, custody and care proceedings unless stated otherwise but, will obviously be subjected to certain reporting restrictions.
Press Gazette writes: '"He told the Commons: "Many argue that the current provisions to safeguard privacy and confidentiality go too far - leaving family courts unfairly open to accusations of bias or even injustice."
"The overall effect of these changes will be fundamentally to increase the openness of family courts while protecting the privacy of children and vulnerable adults."'
This is a huge change for the journalism industry and for the family court environment, I'm sure a lot of people won't be happy about the proposal but, it does seem a good move towards letting the general public know more about what goes on in court.
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