Will the UK’s new senior judge change the Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court is changing.  Three new Justices are taking office, including Lady Black, who is only the second woman to serve on the UK’s highest court.  The first, Lady Hale, was this week officially sworn in as President of the Supreme Court, making her the UK’s most senior judge.   Lady Hale was appointed a member of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords – then the UK’s top court – in January 2004, which became the Supreme Court in October 2009.  She is by any measure not only an extremely experienced judge, but also a legal trailblazer.  What will her appointment as President mean for the law?

One should not overstate the importance of her new office.  The President may be the UK’s most senior judge but is responsible for a court of only twelve judges (contrast the leadership role of the Lord Chief Justice) and the President’s main duty is to determine the size and composition of the panels that hear appeals.