What’s Right To Write? Cooper-Hohn V Hohn [2014] EWHC 2314 (Fam) And The Implications On Media Reporting

This case considered the vexed issue of media reporting of family cases in England.

Practitioners in jurisdictions where proceedings are open to the public (and the press) may wonder what all the fuss is about. However, whilst open justice is an important cornerstone of the English legal system, most family law proceedings in this country have long been recognised as an exception to the rules.

Family law represents a 'special category' of cases: heard in private, with disclosure provided under compulsion and with the court adopting a quasi-inquisitorial role.

Accredited representatives of the media are permitted to attend financial remedy hearings, but what should they be allowed to report?

Should a couple's finances be 'fair game' because they are high profile individuals, or because of the size of their wealth? Should the veil of confidentiality which enshrines such proceedings suddenly be lifted at the court's doors? Does the media have to apply for permission to report, or is it up to the parties to apply for an injunction or restrictions preventing reporting? These were questions Mrs Justice Roberts found herself grappling with during Mr Hohn and Mrs Cooper-Hohn's 10-day final hearing to determine how the parties' wealth should be divided upon their divorce.

How a familiar problem came to a head

Two days in, and just before the husband was to start giving evidence, the Judge was taken off piste to hear...