Closed petition Open Family Courts up to public scrutiny

Closed on 24 March 2019

Family Court proceedings are not transparent. They are conducted away from public scrutiny. As a result there is little public awareness of the injustice many families experience and little accountability for poor judicial decisions. Anyone should be able to attend a Family Court hearing.

The public interest lies in understanding how the law is being dispensed with regards to children and their parents. It lies in understanding the impacts these decisions have on our society. Hundreds of thousands of cases a year pass through the Family Courts unchecked with victims having no redress outside of cost prohibitive appeals to the Royal Courts of Justice. Public scrutiny of the system is required to ensure the process is efficient and protects the rights of both children and parents.