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17 January 2025 / Brice Dickson
Issue: 8100 / Categories: Features , In Court , Profession
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Reflections on the Supreme Court in 2024

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Justice reigns supreme: Brice Dickson rounds up the work of the Supreme Court justices in 2024
  • The Supreme Court’s composition, judgments delivered, and topics covered in 2024.

There were no changes to the complement of Supreme Court justices during 2024 and none of the 12 is due to be replaced during 2025. Lord Hodge, the deputy president, has let it be known that he will retire at the end of 2025, even though he will then be only 72, two and a half years short of the compulsory retirement age. Lord Richards is required to retire by June 2026, when he reaches 75. It is to be hoped that at least one of the replacement justices in 2026 will be female, since at present there are only two women on the court. Lord Reed, the president of the court, has already served for longer than anyone else (12 years) and can, if he wishes, continue in post until 2031.

In 2024 four judges from the supplementary panel sat in seven different cases in the Supreme Court and

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Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

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Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
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
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’
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
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
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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