T, Re (Children: Publication of Judgment) [2024] EWCA Civ 697 (21 June 2024)

T, Re (Children: Publication of Judgment) [2024] EWCA Civ 697 (21 June 2024)

The order for future publication of the judgment naming the parents cannot be sustained because the court was not in a position to predict the impact on the children at the future date, and several factors relied upon provided no support for naming the parents. A fair balance between the rights and interests engaged could not be struck so far in advance. The appeal is allowed and the publication order is set aside.

Citation
[2024] EWCA Civ 697
Parties
Mother/appellant: Ms B; Father/respondent: Mr H
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
21 June 2024
Procedural Posture
Appeal From High Court Family Division / Court of Appeal Judgment
Outcome
Appeal allowed; publication order set aside; substituted order granting liberty to apply after subject child's 18th birthday.
Legal Topics
Publication of Judgments, Anonymity, Children's Welfare, Parental Alienation, Open Justice, Article 8 ECHR, Article 10 ECHR
Family Law Human Rights Publication of Judgments Anonymity Children's Welfare Parental Alienation Open Justice Article 8 ECHR +1 more

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Parties

Ms B

Mother/appellant

Mr H

Father/respondent

Procedural Posture

Appeal From High Court Family Division / Court of Appeal Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the welfare judgment should be published in an unanonymised form naming the parents after the subject child turns 18
  2. 2 Balancing Article 8 (privacy) and Article 10 (freedom of expression) rights in the context of publication
  3. 3 Impact of publication on children's welfare and privacy

Ratio Decidendi

The order for future publication of the judgment naming the parents cannot be sustained because the court was not in a position to predict the impact on the children at the future date, and several factors relied upon provided no support for naming the parents. A fair balance between the rights and interests engaged could not be struck so far in advance. The appeal is allowed and the publication order is set aside.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; publication order set aside; substituted order granting liberty to apply after subject child's 18th birthday.

Orders

  • Existing publication order set aside.
  • Father granted liberty to apply for further publication after subject child's 18th birthday.