Brice Dickson examines the activity of the Supreme Court in 2016
The only change to the composition of the Supreme Court during 2016 was the retirement of Lord Toulson in September. The court decided not to immediately appoint a replacement but to await the retirement of Lord Neuberger (the President) and Lord Clarke in the summer of 2017. Lords Hughes, Mance and Sumption are due to retire in 2018. A competition to find three replacement Justices began in February and a second competition for three more will take place in 2018.
In the meantime Lord Toulson and Lord Dyson (who retired as Master of the Rolls in 2016) have joined the Supplementary Panel of retired senior judges who can sit in the Supreme Court as and when required. They are eligible to do so until they reach the age of 75 or until five years have elapsed since they last held office as a senior judge. Two retired Scottish judges, Lord Gill and Lord Hamilton, are already members of the Panel.
The output
In 2016 the Supreme Court issued 65 sets of judgments, a noticeably
