Mr Justice Munby's rebuke of lawyer Sarah Harman last March for sending papers relating to a family law case to her sister, solicitor general Harriet (who in turn passed them to children's minister Margaret Hodge), could prove to be a defining event in how information from the family courts can be disclosed.
Until that point, many involved in the system, including parents and politicians taking up their cases, were unaware they could be breaking the law by disclosing any details of proceedings involving children.
But proposals unveiled last month by the Department for Constitutional Affairs aim to ease these and other restrictions. This follows new legislation included in the Children Act 2004 that will amend Section 97 (2) of the Children Act 1989 so that the disclosure of any material that would identify, or would be likely to identify, a child involved in family proceedings will only be a criminal offence if it is made to the general public or any section of the general public.
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