Update about visiting the UK Supreme Court

Update about visiting the UK Supreme Court

23 March 2020

As a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Supreme Court building and café are currently closed to the public and so it will not be possible to visit the building for the foreseeable future.

All tours, events and education sessions have also been cancelled until further notice and arrangements have been made for refunds where necessary.

We continue to keep the situation and these measures under constant review, and look forward to announcing when we will be able to resume normal opening.

17 March 2020

As a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) steps are being taken to protect and support our visitors, staff and Justices.

To allow the work of the UK Supreme Court (UKSC) and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) to continue, we have been taking several precautionary measures, including implementing rigorous cleaning routines and closely following Public Health England guidance.

The health and safety of our visitors and all those who work with us is a very high priority. We are doing all that we can to ensure a safe environment and have decided to prioritise hearing UKSC and JCPC appeals, delivering judgment hand-downs, and considering Permission to Appeal applications. We will continue to stream all hearings and judgments live via the UKSC and JCPC websites.

From today (Tuesday 17 March), in order to preserve the operation of Court, we have decided to implement a number of temporary restrictions relating to visitor access. These measures include:

  • No new tour bookings will be accepted between now and mid-May.
  • Existing tour bookings between 17 and 31 March are to be cancelled and, where ticketed, will be refunded.
  • When the Court is sitting, members of the public will be allowed admittance to watch cases but not to enter the building for non-Court related purposes (e.g. to visit the café or permanent exhibition area) nor when the Court is not sitting.

We will continue to review education and outreach sessions over the coming days and weeks.

Justices, Supreme Court staff, and legal teams presenting cases will continue to be able to work in and visit the building, although we are encouraging home working wherever possible.

We continue to keep the situation and these measures under constant review, and look forward to announcing when we'll be able to resume normal opening.

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