Permission to distribute transcript

I'm considering an appeal.

I have transcripts of the judgments from the final hearing. Am I allowed to show them to a medical expert in order to have him comment on them? He has not previously been involved in the proceedings.

The transcripts carry the following rubric (which seems to be standard):

'This judgment was delivered in private. The judge has given leave for this version of the judgment to be published on condition that (irrespective of what is contained in the judgment) in any published version of the judgment the anonymity of the children and members of their family must be strictly preserved. All persons, including representatives of the media, must ensure that this condition is strictly complied with. Failure to do so will be a contempt of court.
This Transcript is Crown Copyright. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part other than in accordance with relevant licence or with the express consent of the Authority. All rights are reserved.'

Articles I've read online suggest that I should be able to forward the transcripts. One solicitor has said otherwise.

The short answer is that you cannot show the transcript to anybody other than your legal advisor or the appropriate level of Court and Judge.

Charles

Thanks for the reply. Could you possibly expand a little please?

I find it hard to see that 'The judge has given leave for this version of the judgment to be published' could not mean that it's expected that anyone and everyone is now permitted to see it.

The same rubric was discussed in the following thread but there's no more clarity:
Telling your story - libel etc - Divorce Advice (wikivorce.com)

I'd add that there are lots of judgments available online with the same rubric (and not just on www.bailii.org ).

When a transcript has been prepared it has to be approved by the Judge as transcriptions can contain errors when the recording is muffled or unclear.

Once the judge is happy with the transcript it is approved for publication.

However, this does not mean that you can let anybody read the judgment, particularly so in family proceedings.

The Family Procedure Rules will clarify the position.

www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/family/rules_pd_menu

Charles

Thanks.

For anyone else who's interested, one can view or print the Family Procedure Rules in their entirety by going to www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/2955/contents and selecting Print Options.

I haven't yet found anything to say I can't share the transcript (the PDF is 375 pages though) but it's clear that one would need the judge's permission to use an expert's response in proceedings.

It's hard not to feel contempt reading this stuff. To me there's one impediment to justice after another.

Some links of use which are pertinent to the issue of publication of proceedings:-

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/8-9/65/section/12/1991-02-01

www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/section/97

Charles