Supreme Court adds to social media mix as Edinburgh hearings open

The UK Supreme Court begins its first ever sitting outside London today, hearing the first of three Scottish appeals over four days at the City Chambers, Edinburgh.

The appeals to be considered cover topics including sham marriages, national planning policy and the rehabilitation of determinate sentence prisoners.

Approximately 120 seats are available for members of the public to attend and observe hearings, on a first come, first served basis. This is a larger capacity than the court's main courtroom in London. Following its usual practice, the court is not reserving seats or issuing tickets in advance.

Already the UK's most social media-friendly court, the court this week also joins picture-sharing social media app Instagram, and images will be available via @uksupremecourt (Twitter) or https://www.instagram.com/uksupremecourt/.

The move will enable the court to share images of preparations for the historic set of hearings. It will also be used to publish pictures of aspects of the court’s work outside the courtroom, such as educational visits, exhibitions and special events.

Live streaming of the court's hearings can be viewed over the internet (go to the case topics above), and video summaries of every judgment since 2012 are on YouTube.

Mark Ormerod, the court’s chief executive, said the new channel “will serve as a window into the life of the Supreme Court beyond the courtroom. Rather than focusing on the cases heard here, it will showcase the work we do with schools and universities from around the world, and our role as a popular visitor attraction in Parliament Square”.

Mr Ormerod will give a free public talk during the Edinburgh sittings, offering an overview of the Supreme Court building and how the court uses its accommodation in central London. The presentation will begin in the council chamber after court has risen on Wednesday 14 June, at 4.15pm.