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28 January 2022 / Brice Dickson
Issue: 7964 / Categories: Features , Law digest , In Court , Profession
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Judgement day for the Supreme Court

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Brice Dickson considers the Supreme Court’s output in 2021…
  • The noticeable decrease in the number of judges in Supreme Court cases.
  • Statistics for appearances and judgments.
  • The most common legal fields dealt with in 2021.

The only change to the personnel of the Supreme Court during 2021 was the appointment of Lady Rose, who replaced the retiring Lady Black in January. Lord Lloyd-Jones and Lady Arden retired earlier this month but by the start of this week, their successors had still not been named.

The Supreme Court issued judgments in 58 cases in 2021 (compared with 53 in 2020), still well below the average of 67 per year since 2010. The cases embraced 60 appeals, two cross-appeals, one reference and an exercise by the court of its original jurisdiction. Of the appeals and cross-appeals, 28 were won, a success rate of 45%, very close to the 2020 figure of 47%. Three of the 58 cases were Scottish in origin and only one was from Northern Ireland. There was also one leapfrog appeal—Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: No such thing as a ‘Welsh seat’
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
NLJ this week: Jury reform risks justice for efficiency’s sake
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
NLJ this week: Time to revive the duty to report crime?
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
NLJ this week: When are experts truly ‘necessary’?
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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