header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
16 January 2026 / Professor Emeritus Brice Dickson
Issue: 8145 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Equality , Public
printer mail-detail

The Supreme Court: 2025 in review

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
240099
Quieter court, louder consequences? Brice Dickson analyses the output of the Supreme Court in 2025
  • The Supreme Court issued just 49 decisions in 2025, continuing a multi-year decline in caseload, while co-authored judgments became a striking feature of the court’s work.
  • High-profile cases addressed biological sex under the Equality Act 2010, public rights on Dartmoor, fair trials in sexual offence cases, and transparency in public interest immunity claims.
  • In contrast, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council delivered a record 57 decisions, generally faster and shorter than Supreme Court judgments.

2025 was the second year in a row during which the composition of the Supreme Court remained unchanged. However, Lord Hodge retired on the last day of the year; his position as deputy president was taken up on 1 January by Lord Sales, while his role as one of the two Scottish judges traditionally sitting on the court has been assumed by Lord Doherty, formerly a judge in the Inner House of the Court

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026—the winners!
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll