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Supreme numbers: a year in review

12 January 2018
Issue: 7776 / Categories: Legal News , In Court
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The Supreme Court heard a record 82 cases last year, beating the record set in 2013 by one.

Lady Hale delivered the most judgments (20), while Lord Hughes delivered the fewest (nine). Dissent was expressed in only 12 cases. Lords Kerr and Clarke dissented four times. Lords Carnwath and Hughes dissented three times. Only Lord Sumption did not dissent at all.

Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Brice Dickson, Queen’s University Belfast, notes that more than a quarter of the Court’s cases involved interveners. A total of 48 interveners contributed to 24 cases.

Two references were made to the European Court of Justice. The longest judgment, concerning British soldiers’ detention powers in Afghanistan and Iraq, ran to 360 paragraphs.

In a busy year, the Court handed down decisions on major constitutional matters such as the Article 50 process for Brexit, welcomed its first female President, Lady Hale and appointed three new Justices, Lords Lloyd-Jones and Briggs and its second female Justice, Lady Black.

This year, a further three retirements are due—Lords Mance, Hughes and Sumption—again changing the composition of the court. 

Issue: 7776 / Categories: Legal News , In Court
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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