The Rt Hon Lord Murphy of Torfaen has submitted his Independent Review of the Windsor Framework to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, following the Framework's December 2024 consent vote which passed without cross-community support. The review, conducted under Schedule 6A to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, makes 15 recommendations aimed at improving democratic scrutiny and business operations. Key proposals include extending the Democratic Scrutiny Committee's review period to 10 working days, enhancing support for Northern Ireland Civil Service engagement with EU legislation, streamlining business guidance through a single service, and strengthening medicine supply chain arrangements. The recommendations focus on practical improvements while acknowledging fundamental differences remain between nationalist and unionist communities regarding the Framework's constitutional implications.

Dispute Resolution analysis: Lord Neuberger, President of the Supreme Court, delivered a speech to the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Justice on 3 March 2016 in which he considered how access to justice can be ensured in the modern age, focusing in particular on electronic access to the court.

The Lord President of the Judiciary of Scotland, Lord Carloway, has announced that he has written to HM King Charles, UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney to inform them of his intention to retire in early 2025.

The senior judge and head of the judiciary in Scotland.

The President and Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Lord Reed and Lord Hodge, gave evidence during their annual session at the Lords Constitution Committee on the 4th of June. The session examined the Supreme Court's judicial work, its role in upholding the rule of law and its outreach and international engagement. Both witnesses addressed challenges such as misinformation, access to justice and the impact of AI on the legal system. They also discussed criticism of 'judicial activism' in the European Court of Human Rights and on the Supreme Court, emphasising that judicial development of law remains a measured, incremental process. They also discussed public reaction to the court's judgment in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers and the limits on their ability to explain their judgments.

Lord Reed of Allermiur has spoken at the International Conference on Implementation of the Rule of Law: the role of the Supreme Court in Modern Conditions, held by the Supreme Court of Ukraine on 20 January 2023 about the UK experience of departing from precedent. Lord Reed has highlighted that following precedent is a way of ensuring that the law is predictable in the UK. Lord Reed has also listed three instances where the UK Supreme Court has displayed a willingness to depart from precedent. These include cases where the Court has overturned domestic precedent to prioritise jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR); where it was clear to the Court that the law has taken a wrong turn and legislative reform cannot address this and lastly; where it has become clear that departing from precedent is consistent with needs, expectations and values of society.

Lord Reed, President of the UK Supreme Court, gave an important speech last week about the challenges facing courts in an era of populism. He said the court needs to deploy ‘judicial statecraft’ to build trust and withstand tensions and suggested that some 'ambitious' apex court judgments in the past had been damaging. He made these comments in the Peter Taylor Memorial Address on 12 June 2025.

In a speech to judges, Lord Sales has defended the doctrinal distinction made by the Supreme Court in public law between the interpretative principle of legality, and heightened scrutiny. He was responding to academic comment from Professor Mark Elliott of Cambridge University.

In a lecture at the Statute Law Society Conference on 6 June 2025, Supreme Court Justice Lord Sales detailed the approach of UK courts to statutory interpretation. The speech outlined how courts determine legislative purpose through statutory text, associated explanatory materials and constitutional principles, while maintaining constitutional boundaries and stressing that statutory language remains the primary point of reference. Lord Sales contrasted this with the United States' shift towards textualism, arguing that the UK’s system incorporates a broader consideration of legislative purpose while upholding parliamentary sovereignty.

Lord Sales has given a speech titled ‘Default Rules in the Common Law: Substantive Rules and Precedent’ at the International Workshop on Default Rules in Private Law in Oxford. In his speech, he discussed pluralism and default rules, contracts, tort, structured discretions, burdens and standards of proof and precedent.

Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Lord Sales spoke in Oxford on April 13 about the concept, status and constitutional place of assimilated law in the post-Brexit legal order. Looking at assimilated law in its constitutional and historical context, he addressed potential difficulties in purposive interpretation of assimilated law, and considered the interpretative relevance of assimilated case law. He also considered how assimilated law may raise concerns about the delicate balance between primary and delegated legislation. George Peretz KC has said the speech is 'well worth a read if you have any interest in the way in which law inherited from the EU is treated in the UK courts.

Justice of the UK Supreme Court, Lord Sales, has delivered a speech to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, examining the evolution of statutory interpretation principles. The address covered four key areas: the principle of legality, constitutional statutes, interpretative obligations under the European Communities Act 1972 and Human Rights Act 1998 and purposive interpretation approaches. Lord Sales emphasized that statutory interpretation functions as applied constitutional law, reflecting the relationship between courts, Parliament and the executive. Lord Sales outlined how courts must balance parliamentary sovereignty with rights protection while acting as faithful agents of Parliament. The speech detailed specific interpretative techniques developed by courts to maintain this balance, including the treatment of constitutional statutes and application of section 3 of the Human Rights Act.