£200K-a-year Lord Saville proves most hands-off SCJ
Supreme Court Justice Lord Saville sat on just one case in the Michaelmas term, making him the least active of the 11 Supreme Court Justices.
The court sat for 33 days out of a possible 45, in which it heard 14 substantive appeals and two applications for appeal.
Lord Hope SCJ was the most active judge, appearing on all but two of the cases and totting up 29 sitting days. Lord Brown SCJ came second with 26 days and Lady Hale SCJ came third with 22 days.
It is understood that Saville SCJ made appearances in the Privy Council, but produced just 23 paragraphs of judgment in the Michaelmas term.
According to court listings, the judge will not make an appearance in the Supreme Court this term but will sit twice in the Privy Council - the first time was on 21 January and the second will be on 22 February.
Supreme Court justices earn an annual salary of more than £200,000.
Saville SCJ is currently presiding over the Bloody Sunday inquiry. At £200m it is the most expensive public investigation in legal history. The report was due to be published before Christmas, but is now not expected for several months.
Readers' comments (4)
Anonymous | 25-Jan-2010 4:15 pm
What's the story? Are you suggesting the Saville Inquiry is an excuse or a reason for his 'low' number of days?
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Anonymous | 25-Jan-2010 5:50 pm
"The story" is that there isn't one. Typical journo's padding for a quiet Monday. Might as well ask how many times Jackson has sat in the Appeal Court last year (answer - 0) while doing his costs review.
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Elizabeth Summers | 26-Jan-2010 11:04 am
The Supreme Court is supposed to consist of twelve full time Justices. If Lord Saville has writer's block and requires so much extra time to complete his report into Bloody Sunday, why did he make himself available last summer? It does not seem fair that the burden is not being shared equally.
In relation to Lord Justice Jackson's report, it was 550+ pages with a prelimnary report of almost 1000 pages, yet he completed it within 12 months. The Bloody Sunday Inquiry commenced in 1998 and there has been no oral evidence since 2004.
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Anonymous | 26-Jan-2010 3:10 pm
In its first term the SCJ had nothing to do for nearly one day in three. Is that not a story?
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