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A Supreme review & a constitutional revolution

29 July 2020 / Alec Samuels
Issue: 7897 / Categories: Features , In court , Constitutional law
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Alec Samuels details a decade of the UK Supreme Court

In brief

  • Independence and identity.
  • Constitutional, public law and human rights issues.
  • A separation of powers.

The creation of the UK Supreme Court a decade or so ago was a constitutional revolution. The judges left the House of Lords. They obtained their own building. They look to be a new institution. They are now called justices. They are no longer peers, but knighted, appointed to the Privy Council, and given the courtesy title of Lord or Lady. How is the institution working?

Independence

The Supreme Court has developed a strong sense of independence and identity, sitting in its own building in Parliament Square, virtually running its own affairs, managing its own budget, appointing the chief executive who determines the staffing, making its own rules, and controlling its own docket, about 70 cases a year. Modern technology is used to the full. The justices and counsel are unrobed. The proceedings are transparent, and televised, and oral and

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Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

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NEWS
One in five in-house lawyers suffer ‘high’ or ‘severe’ work-related stress, according to a report by global legal body, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)
The Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO’s) plea for a budget increase has been rejected by the Law Society and accepted only ‘with reluctance’ by conveyancers
Overcrowded prisons, mental health hospitals and immigration centres are failing to meet international and domestic human rights standards, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) has warned
Two speedier and more streamlined qualification routes have been launched for probate and conveyancing professionals
Workplace stress was a contributing factor in almost one in eight cases before the employment tribunal last year, indicating its endemic grip on the UK workplace
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