London’s Court of Appeal has lifted the automatic embargo on the identification of children in family court proceedings once the proceedings have come to an end.
Although courts will retain powers to protect the identity of children where it is considered that the rights of those involved, under the European Convention on Human Rights, require it, the President of the Family Division ruled that it should no longer be automatic.
In a statement, the President said: “The Court of Appeal has decided that the prohibition from identifying children, which Section 97 of the Children Act 1989 provides, only applies while the proceedings relating to the child in question are in progress.
“Once the proceedings have concluded, the protection given by the Act comes to an end, the entitlement to anonymity thereafter being dependent upon an exercise in balancing the Convention rights of those involved.”
The case centred on a dispute between parents Simon and Aneta Clayton, of Hay-on-Wye, who have now reached an agreement for sharing the care of their seven-year-old daughter Estelle.
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