There are strict rules for privacy for
children involved in certain proceedings and releasing information
to the media is a risk that should not be taken without expert
legal advice as usually no information can be disclosed before
the conclusion of the proceedings. There
may be consequences resulting in a prison sentence, in a worst
case scenario.
The prohibition is on publication of any information likely to
identify a child in a case and lasts until the conclusion of the
proceedings in question thereafter the parties have a right to
freedom of expression under art 10 of the European Convention on
Human Rights which may outweigh the rights of a child to respect
for private and family life as set out in art 8 of the same Convention.
Every court when making what a final order
in proceedings under the Children Act 1989 considers whether
or not there is an outstanding welfare issue which needs to be
addressed by a continuing order for anonymity. If there is no
outstanding welfare issue, then it is likely that the penal consequences
will cease to have any effect, and the parties can put into the
public domain any matter relating to themselves and their children
that they wish to publish. The
court, after the proceedings, retains its welfare jurisdiction
and will be able to intervene with orders to prevent publication
where a child’s welfare is put at risk by inappropriate parental
identification for publicity purposes.
This has also been dealt with in care proceedings
as well as other family cases involving children where a similar
conclusion was reached and it was said that as a result even
within care and adoption proceedings as a matter of routine judgments
should be given in an anonymised form and in open court.
It is possible in public and private law
children’s’ proceedings
for some publication at the conclusion of proceedings as long as
there is no order made by the court to the contrary or a conflict
with s12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960, ie to whilst
it may be alright to publish a form of the judgement, it may still
be a contempt of court to publish documents and reports filed within
those proceedings.
Anyone thinking of publishing anything from any proceedings involving
children should really consider the advice of a solicitor before
doing so.
