‘Private hearings let judges off mistakes’

SECRECY in family courts could be allowing judges to get away with mistakes, the most senior family judge in England and Wales has said.

Speaking at an event on Tuesday evening, Sir James Munby, president of the high court’s family division, said that judges were “grotesquely overworked” and “tired” and so more likely to make errors.

He said more openness would allow journalists and the public to scrutinise their decisions.

Judges should not be “immune from criticism” and journalists should be able to argue that “the whole thing is flawed, the premises are all wrong, the facts are all wrong” if they think the judge has erred, he said.

“The simple fact is that at present journalists can’t do that without access to the evidence,” he added.

Most family court hearings are heard in private but accredited journalists are allowed in unless specifically excluded. However, there are restrictions on what can be reported and on access to documents.

Lord Burnett of Maldon, the new Lord Chief Justice, has said that one of his priorities is to improve transparency of the courts to help people understand them better.