Supreme or Constitutional Court: what do the top courts do?

October 1999 - May 2001

Principal Investigators: Richard Cornes, Andrew le Sueur

Abstract

The main objective of this project is to examine whether the UK's two top level national courts - the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council - are in need of reform. The project looked at:

• the functions performed by the highest level appeal courts in the UK
• alternative structures for the apex of the UK's legal systems
• models for legal procedures, and administration in top level courts
• the roles of top level courts in establishing new constitutional settlements
• the political dynamics of debates about reform in the UK
• how reform proposals might be implemented
• lessons which might be learnt from some other legal systems

Outputs

• R.Cornes, A.le Sueur What do the top courts do? The Constitution Unit (June 2000)
• R.Cornes 'McGonnell v. United Kingdom, The Lord Chancellor and the Law Lords', Public Law (Summer 2000)
• R. Cornes, A. le Sueur 'What do the Top Courts do?', Current Legal Problems (2000)
• R. Cornes, A. le Sueur The Future of the United Kingdom's Highest Courts The Constitution Unit (July 2001)
• A. le Sueur What is the future for the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council? The Constitution Unit (May 2001)