The Courts Service Annual Report 2014

In the Courts Service Annual Report 2014, which was recently published, Chief Justice Susan Denham described last year as a year of demands, challenges and opportunities. Emphasising the ever-changing needs of society as the catalyst for change within the Courts Service, the report reflected a year of significant developments and noteworthy trends.

• The long awaited Court of Appeal was established on 29 October 2014. 1,355 civil appeals were transferred from the Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal. As of 31 December 2014, 84 Ordinary Appeals and 34 expedited appeals had been lodged.
• The Supreme Court retained 800 appeals to be dealt with, following the establishment of the Court of Appeal. Now, cases in the High Court no longer have a general right of appeal to the Supreme Court, but instead a general right of appeal to the Court of Appeal. This will assist with the significant backlog of cases that has been reported for the past number of years. Nonetheless,