M v F & Anor [2025] EWHC 801 (Fam) (02 April 2025)

M v F & Anor [2025] EWHC 801 (Fam) (02 April 2025)

The Family Procedure Rules and Practice Direction 12R do not provide jurisdiction for the court to permit parties themselves to publish information about private law children proceedings to the public at large beyond what is already in published judgments. However, the High Court retains an inherent jurisdiction to permit such publication in exceptional cases, subject to a balancing of Article 8 and Article 10 rights. In this case, the court exercises its inherent jurisdiction to permit Ms M and Mr F to publish anonymised accounts of their experiences, subject to strict conditions to protect the child's anonymity.

Citation
[2025] EWHC 801 (Fam)
Parties
Applicant: Ms M; First Respondent: Mr F; Second Respondent: The Child, C (by his Guardian, Miss Kelly)
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
02 April 2025
Procedural Posture
Family Law Children Act Private Law Proceedings / Application for Permission to Publish Information About Proceedings
Outcome
Application granted in part under the court's inherent jurisdiction, with conditions.
Legal Topics
Transparency in Family Proceedings, Freedom of Expression (article 10 Echr), Right to Privacy (article 8 Echr), Reporting Restrictions, Inherent Jurisdiction, Administration of Justice Act 1960 S.12, Family Procedure Rules Disclosure
Family Law Human Rights Law Media Law Transparency in Family Proceedings Freedom of Expression (article 10 Echr) Right to Privacy (article 8 Echr) Reporting Restrictions Inherent Jurisdiction +2 more

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Parties

Ms M

Applicant

Mr F

First Respondent

The Child, C (by his Guardian, Miss Kelly)

Second Respondent

Procedural Posture

Family Law Children Act Private Law Proceedings / Application for Permission to Publish Information About Proceedings

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Does the Family Court or High Court have jurisdiction to permit a party to publish information about private law children proceedings beyond published judgments?
  2. 2 Can the transparency order or Family Procedure Rules be interpreted to allow parties themselves to publish information to the public at large?
  3. 3 Does the High Court's inherent jurisdiction survive statutory restrictions to permit such publication, and if so, how should it be exercised?

Ratio Decidendi

The Family Procedure Rules and Practice Direction 12R do not provide jurisdiction for the court to permit parties themselves to publish information about private law children proceedings to the public at large beyond what is already in published judgments. However, the High Court retains an inherent jurisdiction to permit such publication in exceptional cases, subject to a balancing of Article 8 and Article 10 rights. In this case, the court exercises its inherent jurisdiction to permit Ms M and Mr F to publish anonymised accounts of their experiences, subject to strict conditions to protect the child's anonymity.

Court Disposition

Application granted in part under the court's inherent jurisdiction, with conditions.

Orders

  • Ms M and Mr F are permitted to publish anonymised accounts of their experiences of the family justice system, using a pseudonym, provided that neither the child nor themselves are identified and no information is published that could lead to the identification of the child.
  • Ms M may write articles for publication and speak to accredited journalists using a pseudonym, subject to the above conditions.