When Manchester Civil Justice Centre was chosen to host the highest court of appeal, I felt very proud that the city had been picked as the first place outside a UK capital to hold a Supreme Court sitting.
It felt like a great opportunity to showcase the work of the Supreme Court to the people of Manchester and we hoped they would take the time to visit our court and listen to the hearings.
The outside exterior of the Manchester Civil Justice Centre. A modern glass building.
Years in the making
The story of how the Supreme Court came to Manchester started in 2019, when the court first approached HMCTS to make enquires about the possibility of sitting. However, the pandemic forced us to put the plans on hold until last summer.
The Supreme Court hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population. It also plays an important role in the development of UK law.
While it was exciting to be chosen, HMCTS had never hosted the Supreme Court before so we were unsure of what we’d need to do.
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