The Law Society is to host an emergency summit later this month to air concerns about opening family courts to the media. Under new rules proposed by justice secretary Jack Straw, the media will be able to attend all levels of family courts. Chancery Lane believes admission should only be granted on a case-by-case basis.

The Society said the debate, on 26 March, ‘will expose the potential impact on children’s rights and examine the effect of opening often sensitive court proceedings to press scrutiny and trading families’ fundamental right to privacy for the assumption that more openness will bring about an improvement in standards’.

It added: ‘The Law Society supports the principle of accountability and greater openness in family cases, but believes that the need to protect privacy, especially that of the child and vulnerable adults, and the interests of children should be the paramount concerns when considering ways to increase public confidence in the family court system.’

Law Society President Paul Marsh added: ‘It is essential to allow scrutiny without exposing children and vulnerable adults to abuse or denying them their privacy. Hearings in the family courts should be private unless opened by the court to the media and public on a case-by-case basis.’

The event will take place between 6-8pm at the Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane. The speakers are: Mr Justice Hedley, who will focus on the consequences for trial processes and family practitioners and clients; Alison Russell QC, counsel in the case of Re S – a well-known family law silk with expertise in family care cases; and Jane Fortin, a professor of law with a specialism in children’s rights at Sussex University.