Brice Dickson summarises the highlights of the Supreme Court in 2011
The UK Supreme Court started 2011 with 11 justices, no replacement having been appointed for Lord Saville who retired at the end of September 2010. In April 2011, the complement fell to 10 justices upon the retirement of Lord Collins after just two years in post; it was made clear, however, that he would continue to sit in the court as an ad hoc justice.
Situations vacant
In May 2011, Lord Justice Nicholas Wilson (aged 65) filled Lord Saville’s seat and it was announced that in due course Jonathan Sumption QC (aged 62) would take up the vacancy created by Lord Collins. This had not occurred by the year’s end, because Sumption wished to fulfil his commitment to defend the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich against the $3bn claim for breach of contract and trust made by fellow oligarch Boris Berezovsky. Sumption is the first person to be appointed to the Supreme Court without having first served as a full-time judge in a lower court. The last person to be so appointed in
