By Vanessa Lloyd Platt
These days one of the first questions asked by clients is “Can my divorce proceedings and my finances be reported in the Press at any time?” The short answer to this question is “Yes, depending upon the circumstances”.
The vast majority of cases heard today are only of academic interest and would not attract media attention at all. The Press is known for only wishing to report on cases that are out of the ordinary – for example due to the fame of one or both of the parties, or the extent of the assets which would give rise to public interest. Run of the mill cases are usually of little or no interest to the Press.
There is a gradual trend these days towards greater openness in the Family Courts. Unsurprisingly there are very polarised views in relation to this subject, if you consider that the privacy of partners who are involved in intimate and often sensitive Family Law disputes, particularly where there are children, to be paramount you would not wish these to be reported. Others argue against this saying that it is of greater importance to the public to ensure that the Family Courts are always open to scrutiny so that the public can continue to have confidence in it.
It is notable that more High Court decisions are now being reported on in the law reports, without anonymising the parties. Mr Justice Mostyn, prior to his retirement, had been a very vocal proponent of transparency and many of his judgements reported in the law reports have named the parties.
Mostyn J’s last reported case on this subject, prior to his retirement was a case called Gallagher v Gallagher No 1 reporting restrictions 2022 EWF C52. In that case he firmly expressed the view that while the Family Procedure Rules provided that financial remedy proceedings be heard in private, this provides no more than partial privacy at the hearing. It prevents most members of the general public from physically watching the case but does not impose secrecy as to the facts. He went on to make the following points to go to the heart of the matter:
- Journalists and bloggers can attend a financial remedy hearing. In the absence of a valid reporting restriction or anonymity order, they can report anything they see or hear at the hearing.
- In the absence of a reporting restriction the parties can talk to whoever they like about a financial remedy hearing including giving an interview to the Press. However, they are bound by an implied undertaking not to make ulterior use of documents compulsorily disclosed by their opponents i.e., they cannot show such documents to journalists unless that journalist was specially covering the case.
If the case is transferred to the High Court, any of the High Court cases can be reported but with the permission of the Judge. If you are a celebrity and you are worried about the media coverage of your case, or the disclosure of intimate financial information, application can be made to the Court to exclude the Press in your case. The case will then be dealt with, and documents placed under seal to ensure that nobody other than your financial or legal advisers can look at them. This is quite often the process used by celebrities.
If the Judge considers that your case, the subject matter of it or your finances are of public interest, or some aspect of your finances should be open to scrutiny, then the Court will not make such an order and will allow all the information to be reported and thereby become public.
It is for this reason, as matrimonial lawyers, we look at every aspect of all matters. In order to protect people with high profiles from being exposed to public scrutiny, there will be some cases where alternative methods should be used other than going to Court. If you are such a person, Lloyd Platt & Company will assist and will guide you through alternative methods that could produce the right results without exposing you to immediate further media scrutiny.
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