Supreme Court of the United Kingdom website opens
On 1 October 2009, a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom will replace the House of Lords as the court of final instance in most matters in the United Kingdom. This is a significant moment for the UK’s legal system. Constitutionally, it will mark the formal separation of the judicial arm of government from the executive and legislative (though functionally the separation has been in place for more than a century). The Law Lords will transfer to the new Supreme Court and become the justices of the Supreme Court. The first fresh appointment to the new court will be a replacement for Lord Neuberger, who is stepping down to become Master of the Rolls (to replace Lord Clarke, who is leaving the MR post to replace Lord Scott, who is retiring). New appointees will no longer be created life peers by reason only of their appointment to the Supreme Court – for lawyers around the Commonwealth, this marks the end of an era as they will stop talking about their Lordships in reference to new cases. The Supreme Court will be housed in the Middlesex Guildhall, which sits on Parliament Square, across from the Palace of Westminster and close to Westminster Abbey.
The Supreme Court’s website has been launched: http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/index.html
Update: Read up on the workings of the UKSC at this (non-affiliated) blog: http://www.ukscblog.com/
It appears that there will be an even number (12) of judges on the new Supreme Court. How could they let that one slip…
@Dan Interesting point – apparently there were an odd number of Law Lords for a long time, until the number was upped from 9 to 12 in 1994. Twelve is a significant number – apostles, zodiac, months, jurors on a jury – I wonder if the number was determined with such connections in mind.
In any case, the Law Lords – and the new Supreme Court – will sit in odd-numbered benches: This column by David Pannick QC is informative.