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14 January 2010 / Brice Dickson
Issue: 7400 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Year end

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Brice Dickson runs through the UK’s top court in 2009

The past year witnessed the demise of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords and the birth of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

A day before its final sitting (to hear an interlocutory matter) the House issued judgments in seven cases, including R (Purdy) v DPP [2008] UKHL 45, where the DPP was ordered to promulgate a policy identifying the circumstances he would take into account when exercising his discretion to prosecute people for aiding and abetting suicide.

To the 45 decisions by the House can be added the 17 by the new Supreme Court, 11 of which related to matters argued within the House. The annual total of 62 top court decisions compares with the figure of 74 for 2008 and 58 for 2007.

The 62 decisions covered 79 appeals. All but six of these were from courts in England and Wales (even though one involved the constitution of Sark in the Channel Islands: R (Barclay) v Secretary of State for

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Tightening the screws on JCT terminations
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
NLJ this week: Old rules, fresh warnings in employment law
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
NLJ this week: The rise of the ‘ChatGPT client’ rattles the profession
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
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
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