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A love supreme?

30 June 2011 / Oliver Gayner
Issue: 7472 / Categories: Features , Constitutional law
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Oliver Gayner reviews the work of the UK Supreme Court in its Hilary term

A busy first term of the judicial year sees the Justices abolish immunity for expert witnesses, among other things, and the Judicial Appointments Committee confirm the appointments of Lord Justice Wilson & Jonathan Sumption QC.

While the UK Supreme Court continues to see a high proportion of human rights and public law cases, its caseload for the Hilary term was notably diverse. Among other issues, the justices were asked to consider noise levels in the knitting industry, the rights of nesting bats, collapsing oil rigs, and the characteristics of a barn as opposed to a dwelling house.

Alongside these more esoteric cases, there were also some more traditionally “Supreme Court” decisions, such as whether it is still justified in law to grant immunity to expert witnesses in civil proceedings, and the remedies available in cases of unlawful detention by government power. Set out below are some of the highlights of the term, both in and out of the courtroom.

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

Blake Morgan managing partner appointed chair of CBI South-East Council

Birketts—Phillippa O’Neill

Birketts—Phillippa O’Neill

Commercial dispute resolution team welcomes partner in Cambridge

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Charles Russell Speechlys—Matthew Griffin

Firm strengthens international funds capability with senior hire

NEWS
The proposed £11bn redress scheme following the Supreme Court’s motor finance rulings is analysed in this week’s NLJ by Fred Philpott of Gough Square Chambers
In this week's issue, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist and former district judge, surveys another eclectic fortnight in procedure. With humour and humanity, he reminds readers that beneath the procedural dust, the law still changes lives
Generative AI isn’t the villain of the courtroom—it’s the misunderstanding of it that’s dangerous, argues Dr Alan Ma of Birmingham City University and the Birmingham Law Society in this week's NLJ
James Naylor of Naylor Solicitors dissects the government’s plan to outlaw upward-only rent review (UORR) clauses in new commercial leases under Schedule 31 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, in this week's NLJ. The reform, he explains, marks a seismic shift in landlord-tenant power dynamics: rents will no longer rise inexorably, and tenants gain statutory caps and procedural rights
Writing in NLJ this week, James Harrison and Jenna Coad of Penningtons Manches Cooper chart the Privy Council’s demolition of the long-standing ‘shareholder rule’ in Jardine Strategic v Oasis Investments
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