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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

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
NLJ this week: Online safety law at a crossroads
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
NLJ this week: Do Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor meet the misconduct bar?
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
NLJ this week: Supreme Court unlocks ‘lost years’ windfall for injured children
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
NLJ this week: Finality trumps freedom in arbitration showdown
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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