From House of Lords to Supreme Court
23 July 2009 (updated on 22 April 2010)
On 30 July 2009, the judicial function of the House of Lords and its role as the final - and highest - appeal court in the UK ended, bringing about a fundamental change to the work and role of the House of Lords.
A new United Kingdom Supreme Court, separating the judicial function from Parliament (those who make the law from those who interpret it in courts), will open from 1 October 2009 opposite the Houses of Parliament in Parliament Square - formerly the Middlesex Guildhall.
At the end of July, the Law Lords sat in the Lords Chamber to hear appeals and give the final House of Lords judgments.
What happened?
From 27-30 July, the Law Lords heard appeals in the Lords Chamber.
The final judgments of the House of Lords took place on 30 July from 4.30pm in the Lords Chamber.
The unique and final judicial proceedings of the House of Lords are available to watch online in the ParliamentLive archive.
What happens next?
From 1 October 2009, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom assumes jurisdiction on points of law for all civil law cases in the UK and all criminal cases in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
Applications for leave to appeal
Applications for leave to appeal will still be received by the Supreme Court before 1 October.
The forms should be sent to:
The Registry, The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Parliament Square, London SW1P 3BD
Rules and Practice Directions
The Supreme Court Rules 2009 set out the procedure to be followed in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
Hard copies of the Practice Directions are available from the Registry on 020 7960 1991/1992.
Contact the Supreme Court for further information
Tel: 020 7960 1900 / Fax: 020 7960 1901 http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk
Justices of the Supreme Court
The current Lords of Appeal in Ordinary ( the Law Lords) will be the first Justices of the 12-member Supreme Court and are disqualified from sitting or voting in the House of Lords. When they retire from the Supreme Court they can return to the House of Lords as full Members but newly-appointed Justices of the Supreme Court will not have seats in the House of Lords.
Further information
- Parliament News: Final House of Lords judgments
- YouTube: From House of Lords to Supreme Court
- Parliament News: Final House of Lords judicial business
- Parliament News: Work of the Law Lords
- House of Lords judgments
- About Parliament: Judgments
- About Parliament: Law Lords
- Briefing: Judicial work of the House of Lords (PDF)
- Visiting