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22 January 2016 / Brice Dickson
Issue: 7683 / Categories: Features , In Court
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Reigning supreme

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Brice Dickson casts an eye over events at The Supreme Court in 2015

For the second year running there were no changes in the composition of the Supreme Court during 2015, though the highly respected Jenny Rowe retired as the court’s chief executive.

There continues to be just one female justice, Lady Hale, and the average age of the 12 justices has crept up to 67. There will be at least one change in 2016, as Lord Toulson must retire by September.

Cases decided

In 2015, the court delivered judgments in 79 cases, compared with 68 in 2014 and 81 in 2013. As usual, most cases (65, or 82%) were heard by five justices, but 13 were heard by seven. In one case, dealing with a costs issue, only three justices sat. No case involved nine justices. The president of the court, Lord Neuberger, presided in 60 of the 79 cases (76%) and the deputy president, Lady Hale, presided in 16 (20%). The president and deputy president sat together in 27 cases (34%). Lord Mance presided

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Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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