Kirklees Council v P & Ors

Kirklees Council v P & Ors

The court refused to grant a reporting restriction order extending to criminal proceedings, finding that the exceptional circumstances required were not met, the harm sought to be prevented would not be avoided, and the criminal court is better placed to decide reporting restrictions for its proceedings. A conventional reporting restriction order was granted, limited to the family proceedings, prohibiting publication of information likely to identify the children as subject to proceedings under the Children Act 1989 or Adoption and Children Act 2002.

Parties
Applicant: Kirklees Council; First Respondent: P; Second Respondent: Marcus Osborne; Third Respondent: Q; Fourth to Seventh Respondents: The Children (Through their Children’s Guardian); Interested Party: BBC
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
11 October 2024
Procedural Posture
Family Law Application / Ruling on Application for Reporting Restriction Order
Outcome
Application for reporting restriction order extending to criminal proceedings refused; conventional reporting restriction order granted for family proceedings only.
Legal Topics
Reporting Restrictions, Transparency Orders, Open Justice, Article 8 and Article 10 Balancing, Parallel Criminal Proceedings
Family Law Media Law Children Law Reporting Restrictions Transparency Orders Open Justice Article 8 and Article 10 Balancing Parallel Criminal Proceedings

Case Brief

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Parties

Kirklees Council

Applicant

P

First Respondent

Marcus Osborne

Second Respondent

Q

Third Respondent

The Children (Through their Children’s Guardian)

Fourth to Seventh Respondents

BBC

Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Family Law Application / Ruling on Application for Reporting Restriction Order

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the court should grant a reporting restriction order extending to criminal proceedings
  2. 2 Whether the reporting restriction order is necessary and proportionate to protect the children's identities
  3. 3 Balancing Article 8 (privacy) and Article 10 (freedom of expression) rights

Ratio Decidendi

The court refused to grant a reporting restriction order extending to criminal proceedings, finding that the exceptional circumstances required were not met, the harm sought to be prevented would not be avoided, and the criminal court is better placed to decide reporting restrictions for its proceedings. A conventional reporting restriction order was granted, limited to the family proceedings, prohibiting publication of information likely to identify the children as subject to proceedings under the Children Act 1989 or Adoption and Children Act 2002.

Court Disposition

Application for reporting restriction order extending to criminal proceedings refused; conventional reporting restriction order granted for family proceedings only.

Orders

  • Reporting restriction order made prohibiting publication of names and dates of birth of the children, names of parties other than Marcus Osborne and the Local Authority, addresses, carers, schools, hospitals, photographs or images likely to identify the children, and any other information likely to identify the...
  • Transparency order remains in force.