Mr Justice Peter Jackson was already a respected family judge when he issued the first judgment written in language simple enough for the young teenager in the case to understand the decision. Because the transcript also reproduced a smiley, it became known as ‘the emoji ruling’. This was a distraction but it helped publicise this new approach and Jackson was rightly praised for taking on board, in a practical way, the interests of the children involved in the justice system.
Jackson J’s comments at the Transparency Project debate last week, that judgments in family – especially children – cases were now more readily ...
