On 1 October 2018, Lady Justice Arden, who currently sits on the Court of Appeal, will join the Supreme Court.
On 3 October 2018, she, together with Lady Hale, Lady Black, Lord Lloyd-Jones and Lord Carnwath, will hear the case of Re D, a deprivation of liberty case involving a 16 year old boy.
This will mark the first time that the Supreme Court will sit with a female majority and comes after last year's report by JUSTICE which criticised the lack of gender, ethnic and social diversity of the senior judiciary in the UK. The report identified the opportunity to change the demographic starting with the Supreme Court due to the vacancies which would be arising between 2017 - 2020.
It is encouraging to see that this transition is starting to take place, although there is clearly more work to be done to ensure that the make-up of the judiciary better reflects the UK population as a whole.
Three of the five judges hearing the case of Re D on 3 October will be women — the first time this has happened in the UK’s highest court or its predecessor, the House of Lords.
https://www.legalcheek.com/2018/09/supreme-court-gets-first-ever-female-majority/
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