New Supreme Court Rules and Privy Council Rules from 2 December 2024

The new Supreme Court Rules 2024 will come into force for proceedings in the UK Supreme Court on 2 December. The changes follow a public consultation earlier this year, and the Supreme Court's publication of its response to consultation in August. New rules for Privy Council appeals will also come into effect at the same time.

Any appeal commenced before the new rules come into force will remain subject to the existing rules.

It has also recently been announced that new websites for the Supreme Court and the Privy Council (as well as the new joint electronic portal noted below) will launch on 4 December.

Key changes in the Supreme Court Rules include:

• Permission to appeal deadline: The 28 day time limit for filing an application to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal will now run from the date the court below refused permission, instead of the date of the decision being appealed. This change means that, if a party fails to apply to the court below within the relevant timeframe, and that court refuses to extend time, there will have been no refusal of permission by the court below and it will therefore not be possible to apply to the Supreme Court for permission. The consultation response notes that, in the interests of encouraging the timely conduct of litigation and respecting the finality of proceedings, a decision was taken not to include in the new rules any "exceptional circumstances" provision that could allow permission to be sought in such circumstances. 
   
• New case management portal: A new electronic portal for filing and service will be mandatory for legally represented parties. Non-portal filing and service will remain available for litigants in person, but the available methods have been reduced and deemed dates of filing and service removed. This places the burden on the filing / serving party to establish when the document was filed / served.
   
• Publication of documents: The new rules provide that, subject to any objection, the Statement of Facts and Issues and the parties’ written cases (but not the document bundles) will be published on the Supreme Court's website at least seven days before the hearing. The parties may object to the publication of all or part of their own or another party’s documents, and the Registrar will determine what material should be held back or redacted (with such decisions subject to review by a single Justice). The new rules retain the existing provision allowing the media and members of the public to apply to inspect any document held by the Court, subject to certain exceptions.