The hearing had been set to last for at least a week with lawyers and barristers lined up for both parties. On Thursday this week the High Court Judge hearing the case, Mr Justice Munby, rejected their request to exclude the media from the court suggesting they simply put forward a request for restrictions on the coverage of the hearing. Since April this year reporters have been allowed into the family courts, unless proper grounds to exclude them can be argued. The Judge declined to make a blanket order banning the press because to do so would have implications for other cases and ran contrary to the new public policy that media should be allowed to attend family hearings. The Judge did not want to encourage there being one law for celebrities (banning the media) and another for those who live their lives in relative anonymity (letting the media in).
The prospect of the media sitting in their lengthy court hearing has convinced Earl and Countess Spencer to seek an adjournment of the trial whilst they negotiate. This may well become increasingly common for high profile couples who do not want details of their finances or the breakdown of their marriage made public. We are likely to see an increase in settlements reached through negotiation, mediation or collaborative law.
The new policy on allowing media access to the courts may have the unexpected and welcome side effect of couples reaching early settlements by agreement in order to avoid the publicity. This can only be good for the families involved, both in terms of reducing the costs they spend on litigating to a final hearing and in terms of reaching an agreement which is psychologically far better than having a judgment imposed on you after a long trial. Perhaps in every cloud there is, after all, a silver lining.
Meredith Thompson