The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom will be created under the provisions of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to take over the judicial functions of the Law Lords in the House of Lords. The Supreme Court will be the final court of appeal in all matters under the four legal systems in the United Kingdom (English law, Welsh law (to the extent that the Welsh Assembly make laws for Wales that differ from those in England), Scottish law and Northern Irish law ).
The new Supreme Court will be located in a building separate from the Houses of Parliament. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 gives time for a suitable building to be found and fitted out before the Law Lords move out of the Palace of Westminster. After a lengthy survey of suitable sites, including Somerset House, the location for the new court will be Middlesex Guildhall, in Parliament Square, Westminster, which is currently a Crown court. Lord Foster was chosen to make the necessary alterations. The building is expected to reopen after renovation in 2008.
The new Supreme Court should not be confused with the Supreme Court of Judicature, which was created in the 1870s under the Judicature Acts and consists of the Court of Appeal, High Court of Justice and Crown Court. When the provisions of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 come into force, creating the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the present Supreme Court of Judicature will become known as the Senior Courts of England and Wales to avoid confusion.
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