UK Supreme Court moves to videoconference hearings

Videoconferenced hearings will be the method of conducting business at the UK Supreme Court from today (24 March), in order that the court can continue sitting during the coronavirus pandemic.

Both the Supreme Court and the  Judicial Committee of the Privy Council will hear all cases and deliver judgments through videoconferencing. The courts will continue to function, whilst taking appropriate steps to comply with the latest advice from Public Health England.

Parties, their legal teams, counsel and each of the Justices will be located in different places.

The Supreme Court building is temporarily closed. The public and media can watch proceedings live via the court's website, in the usual way. Footage will be available to view "on demand" within 48 hours of the live broadcast.

The first hearing to use this technology will be the case of Fowler (Respondent) v Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (Appellant), which begins at 10.30am on Tuesday 24 March. The first judgment handdown to use this technology will be Elgizouli (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent), which will be handed down at 9.45am on Wednesday 25 March.

Cisco WebEx is the web-based videoconferencing system that will be used, chosen for its ease of use and reliability.

The court said the video output would look different to the court’s usual live stream, but it is hoped that it will "serve as a satisfactory record of proceedings".