Anonymising Family Judgments for Publication (FPR r.27.11) – UK GDPR-compliant anonymisation per Family Procedure Rules 2010
Family Procedure Rules 2010 rule 27.11 permits accredited media and legal bloggers to attend family hearings and publish reports, while requiring that parties, children, and other individuals are not identified. anonym.legal applies systematic pseudonymisation across draft judgments so that judges, clerks, and journalists can prepare compliant published versions efficiently and reliably.
When this applies
This task applies when a family-court judge or their clerk is preparing a judgment for publication on the Judiciary website or BAILII, and wishes to apply consistent pseudonymisation across all named individuals before the judgment is released to accredited reporters or published publicly.
How anonym.legal handles it
- Upload the draft or approved judgment to anonym.legal.
- The engine identifies parties, children, named witnesses, experts, solicitors, and any other natural persons mentioned in the judgment.
- Each individual receives a consistent pseudonym (e.g. 'Mother', 'Father', 'Child A') aligned with the standard publication conventions for family judgments.
- Legal analysis, statutory citations, case authorities, and the ratio decidendi are preserved in full.
- A reversible mapping table is produced so the judge or clerk can verify the pseudonymised text against the original before authorising publication.
- The pseudonymised judgment is ready for submission to the Judiciary's publication team or BAILII.
What you provide
- Draft or approved family-court judgment (PDF or DOCX)
- List of parties' pseudonym preferences if the judge has specified conventions
- Any reporting restriction order that defines the anonymisation scope
Limitations & cautions
- The judge retains responsibility for approving the pseudonymised version before publication; anonym.legal provides a systematic first pass, not a final editorial decision.
- Reporting restriction orders may require specific pseudonymisation conventions that differ from the engine's defaults — review and adjust using the mapping key.
- Case citation references and statutory citations are not pseudonymised and remain as published.
FAQ
Does the engine follow the 'Mother / Father / Child A' convention for family judgments?
By default the engine applies role-based pseudonyms where a clear familial role is identified. The judge can review and adjust the pseudonym mapping table to align with preferred publication conventions.
Can the pseudonymised judgment be submitted directly to BAILII?
The pseudonymised output provides a systematic starting point. The judge or court clerk should review and approve the pseudonymised text before submission, as the publishing decision remains the court's responsibility.
What if the judgment refers to a named expert whose anonymisation would be disproportionate?
Expert witnesses who are not parties or children may legitimately be named in published judgments. Flag any individuals who should retain their real name — the mapping table allows selective re-identification before publication.
Is a reporting restriction order itself pseudonymised by the engine?
No. The reporting restriction order defines the scope of anonymisation; it is used as an input, not pseudonymised. Orders restricting publication of parties' details are applied by the engine when processing the judgment.