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The Supreme Court: 2025 in review

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
16 January 2026 / Professor Emeritus Brice Dickson
Issue: 8145 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Equality , Public
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Quieter court, louder consequences? Brice Dickson analyses the output of the Supreme Court in 2025
  • The Supreme Court issued just 49 decisions in 2025, continuing a multi-year decline in caseload, while co-authored judgments became a striking feature of the court’s work.
  • High-profile cases addressed biological sex under the Equality Act 2010, public rights on Dartmoor, fair trials in sexual offence cases, and transparency in public interest immunity claims.
  • In contrast, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council delivered a record 57 decisions, generally faster and shorter than Supreme Court judgments.

2025 was the second year in a row during which the composition of the Supreme Court remained unchanged. However, Lord Hodge retired on the last day of the year; his position as deputy president was taken up on 1 January by Lord Sales, while his role as one of the two Scottish judges traditionally sitting on the court has been assumed by Lord Doherty, formerly a judge in the Inner House of the Court of Session. He is the 34th appointee to the Supreme

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