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30 January 2020 / Brice Dickson
Issue: 7872 / Categories: Features
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Supreme justice: 2019 in review

Brice Dickson outlines the Supreme Court highlights for 2019
  • The court issued 60 decisions in 2019, compared to 67 in 2018 and an annual average of 68 since 2010.

During 2019 the UK Supreme Court gained a higher profile than at any time since its creation in 2019. This was mainly due to its decision in the prorogation case (R(Miller) v The Prime Minister ([2019] UKSC 41), where by 11 to 0 the court ruled that the prime minister, Boris Johnson, had supplied no justifiable reason for advising the Queen to exercise the prerogative power to prorogue Parliament for a period of nearly five weeks. Without doubt the decision marks the high-water mark in the court’s short history to date. It drew huge media attention to the role of the court and to the character of its formidable president, Lady Hale.

In October the court marked its tenth anniversary by having an open day. Among other events there was a talk by the court’s chief executive, Mike Ormerod, and the

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

EIP—Stuart Malcolm

EIP—Stuart Malcolm

EIP strengthens Commercial practice with a new partner

Ellisons—Francesca Brown

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Shakespeare Martineau—Marie Bourke

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Shakespeare Martineau strengthens Sheffield regulatory practice with new hires

NEWS
A wide-ranging Civil Way column highlights developments from insolvency procedure to employment law, but one case stands out for its lessons on bankruptcy, family homes and digital communications
A sprawling Intellectual Property Office battle between House of Fraser and Frasers Property has delivered a masterclass in modern trade mark law
Courts in England and Wales and Singapore are increasingly confronting complex disputes over international child relocation as families become more globally mobile
The government’s long-awaited family law reform consultation could mark a turning point for domestic abuse victims navigating financial remedy proceedings, but significant challenges remain
A new commercial court pilot giving the public access to documents used in hearings, including expert reports, is raising difficult questions about transparency and privacy
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