Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

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The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom will be created under the provisions of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to take over the judicial functions of the Law Lords in the House of Lords and some functions from the Judicial committee of the Privy Council. The Supreme Court will be the final court of appeal in all matters under English law, Welsh law (to the extent that the Welsh Assembly make laws for Wales that differ from those in England) and Northern Irish law. It will also hear appeals from the Court of Session in Scotland (there is no right of appeal beyond the High Court of Justiciary for criminal cases except insofar as devolution issues arise).

1 Building
2 Existing Supreme Courts
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Building

The new Supreme Court will be located in a building separate from the Houses of Parliament. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 gives time for a suitable building to be found and fitted out before the Law Lords move out of the Palace of Westminster. After a lengthy survey of suitable sites, including Somerset House, the location for the new court will be Middlesex Guildhall, in Parliament Square, Westminster, which is currently used for sittings of the Crown court. London-based architectural practice, Feilden and Mawson[1] was chosen to make the necessary alterations. The building is expected to re-open after renovation in October 2009.

[edit] Existing Supreme Courts

The new Supreme Court should not be confused with the Supreme Court of England and Wales (formerly Supreme Court of Judicature), which was created in the 1870s under the Judicature Acts and consists of the Court of Appeal, High Court of Justice and Crown Court. When the provisions of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 come into force, creating the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the present Supreme Court of England and Wales will become known as the Senior Courts of England and Wales to avoid confusion.

The Scottish High Court of Justiciary and Court of Session often are referred to as the 'Supreme Courts' of Scotland but are expected to discontinue this practice once the new court comes into existence.