Supreme Court announces Belfast sitting

The UK Supreme Court will sit in Belfast for the first time in spring of 2018, the court announced today.

Five Justices will sit in the Inns of Court Library at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, in the week beginning 30 April. Supreme Court President Lady Hale will be joined by Deputy President Lord Mance, Lord Kerr (former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland), Lord Hodge and Lady Black for up to four days of hearings.

The move follows the court's first sitting outside London, in Edinburgh in June of this year.

Two appeals have been set down for the week. One will be Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd, in which the Justices will hear arguments on whether a bakery directly discriminated against a customer on the grounds of sexual orientation when it said it could not fulfil an order for a cake with "Support Gay Marriage" written on it because of the proprietors' religious beliefs. The court will also hear a case on whether a policy on allowances for widowed parents breaches human rights laws. 

Announcing the visit, Lady Hale commented: "I am delighted that the Supreme Court will be sitting in Belfast in 2018. As the final court of appeal for the United Kingdom, we hear cases of profound importance to everyone in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. My colleagues and I strongly believe that the experience of watching a case in person should not be limited to those within easy reach of London. This is the second time that the court has sat outside London and doing so is becoming an established feature of the court's calendar."

She added: "The Supreme Court is committed to being one of the most open and accessible in the world and, like all our hearings, our Belfast cases will be live streamed via our website for everyone who cannot get to see us in person."

The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan, said: "I am very much looking forward to welcoming the Supreme Court to Belfast in April. I regard it as extremely significant that the court is now sitting outside London and I am pleased that Belfast has been chosen as one of the earliest locations to feature in the court's calendar. I believe it is important for people in this jurisdiction to have the opportunity to see the work of the court at first hand, which can only help to enhance public confidence in the administration of justice."