Catalogue description Records of The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases, and for criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population.

The Supreme Court was created to achieve the complete separation of the United Kingdom's senior judges from the upper House of Parliament, emphasising the independence of the then Law Lords (now UKSC Justices) and increasing transparency at the top of the judicial system.

The UKSC replaced the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords as the highest court in the United Kingdom in October 2009. The Court hears appeals on arguable points of law of the greatest public importance, for the whole of the United Kingdom in civil cases, and for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in criminal cases. The UKSC also hears cases on devolution matters under the Scotland Act 1998, the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 2006. This jurisdiction was transferred to the UKSC from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

The Supreme Court was established by Part 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and started work on 1 October 2009.