Don’t Get Caught Out – Rules About Sharing Information in Family Court

The Court Service has recently updated its guidance on ‘sharing information outside of court in family proceedings’.

The law allows you to share information about your case only in specific circumstances. This is to protect the privacy of the people involved, particularly children.

If you share certain information about a case relating to a child, you might commit a criminal offence for which you could be fined or even go to prison for contempt of court.

Who can you share information with?

You can share information about your case with:

• Your legal representatives
• Other people who are parties in the case and their legal representatives
• An expert appointed by the court
• A CAFCASS Officer (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) who is involved in the case
• A local authority independent reviewing officer
• The legal aid agency

What You Cannot Share

There are rules of court – The Family Procedure Rules 2010 and Practice Directions – that set out other situations where you are allowed to share certain information about your case. They set out to whom you can share and what you can share.

If you want to share information with anyone for any reason, you must ask your legal representative first.

It is a criminal offence to share information with any section of the public that identifies or is likely to identify:

• A child involved in proceedings under the Children Act 1989 or the Adoption and Children Act 2002.
• The address or school of such a child.

This applies while a court case is ongoing. It only does not apply if the court has made an order allowing you to share information with someone.

It is contempt of court if you share any documents from the case or tell people what is in those documents. So, you cannot usually share:

• Documents that are part of the court proceedings
• Witness statements
• Accounts of what has been said or done in court hearings
• Court judgments or facts and reasons
• Any information that the court has ordered not to be shared

Seek Legal Advice

To be sure that you are not wrongly or illegally sharing information, please consult your legal representative who should be able to give you sound and clear advice.

Get in touch with the Battens team by calling us or by filling out a contact form.