The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for civil cases in all of the UK and for criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Typically this court deals with important legal questions that affect the public or the constitution.

The UK Supreme Court was established in October 2009. This court began to regularly transfer judgments to The National Archives in 2022. The oldest judgment from this court included in Find Case Law is from 2009. House of Lords decisions from before 2009 are held by the Parliamentary Archives.

You can read more about it on the United Kingdom Supreme Court website.

Coverage on Find Case Law

Date range — 2009 to 2026

Completeness — Comprehensive coverage of all Supreme Court judgments since the court’s establishment.

What’s included — We currently hold 967 documents from 2009 to 2026. All substantive judgments. The Supreme Court hears a relatively small number of cases each year (typically 60–80), so coverage is near-complete.

Transfer method — This court began regularly transferring judgments to The National Archives in 2022. Judgments from 2009–2022 were sourced from other collections. House of Lords decisions from before 2009 are held by the Parliamentary Archives.

Earlier cases — The Supreme Court replaced the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords in October 2009. House of Lords decisions from before 2009 are held by the Parliamentary Archives.

Recent judgments

Search this court

Use the search box to find specific cases from the United Kingdom Supreme Court, or visit Advanced search to combine court filters with other search criteria.

Understanding United Kingdom Supreme Court judgments

Citation format

Supreme Court citations use the format [Year] UKSC [Number]. For example, [2024] UKSC 15 is the 15th case decided by the Supreme Court in 2024.

Typical judgment structure

Supreme Court judgments are often lengthy and contain detailed legal analysis. Unlike most other courts, multiple Justices may give separate judgments — some agreeing with different aspects of the decision, others dissenting. This means a single case can contain several individual judgments within it.

Each judgment typically includes a summary of the facts, the legal questions being considered, the reasoning, and the decision.

Who sits

Cases are heard by panels of Justices — usually 5, sometimes 7, and occasionally 9 for the most significant constitutional cases. Larger panels are used when the court is being asked to depart from a previous Supreme Court or House of Lords decision.

Appeal routes

The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal. There is no further appeal from Supreme Court decisions.

Cases reach the Supreme Court on appeal from the Court of Appeal (Civil Division or Criminal Division) or, in some cases, directly from the High Court via a ‘leapfrog’ appeal. Permission to appeal must be granted, and is only given for cases raising arguable points of law of general public importance.

About United Kingdom Supreme Court

Jurisdiction and powers

The Supreme Court hears appeals on arguable points of law of general public importance. Its jurisdiction covers:

• Civil cases from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
• Criminal cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Scottish criminal cases cannot be appealed to the Supreme Court)
• Important points of law under the devolution settlements for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Permission to appeal is required and is granted only for cases raising issues of general public importance. The Supreme Court does not retry cases or review findings of fact — it considers questions of law.

Types of cases

The Supreme Court hears cases involving:

• Constitutional and human rights issues
• Public law and judicial review
• Commercial and contract disputes of legal significance
• Family law matters raising important legal principles
• Criminal appeals on points of law
• Devolution issues

The court typically hears 60 to 80 cases per year.

More about this court

You can read more on the United Kingdom Supreme Court website