Constitutional Reform Act 2005

Staff and resources

48 Chief executive

(1) The Supreme Court is to have a chief executive.

(2) The Lord Chancellor must appoint the chief executive, after consulting the President of the Court.

(3) The President of the Court may delegate to the chief executive any of these functions—

(a) functions of the President under section 49(1);

(b) non-judicial functions of the Court.

(4) The chief executive must carry out his functions (under subsection (3) or otherwise) in accordance with any directions given by the President of the Court.

49 Officers and staff

(1) The President of the Supreme Court may appoint officers and staff of the Court.

(2) It is for the chief executive of the Supreme Court to determine these matters with the agreement of the Lord Chancellor—

(a) the number of officers and staff of the Court;

(b) subject to subsection (3), the terms on which officers and staff are to be appointed.

(3) The civil service pension arrangements for the time being in force apply (with any necessary adaptations) to the chief executive of the Court, and to persons appointed under subsection (1), as they apply to other persons employed in the civil service of the State.

(4) In subsection (3) “the civil service pension arrangements” means—

(a) the principal civil service pension scheme (within the meaning of section 2 of the Superannuation Act 1972 (c. 11), and

(b) any other superannuation benefits for which provision is made under or by virtue of section 1 of that Act for or in respect of persons in employment in the civil service of the State.

50 Accommodation and other resources

(1) The Lord Chancellor must ensure that the Supreme Court is provided with the following—

(a) such court-houses, offices and other accommodation as the Lord Chancellor thinks are appropriate for the Court to carry on its business;

(b) such other resources as the Lord Chancellor thinks are appropriate for the Court to carry on its business.

(2) The Lord Chancellor may discharge the duty under subsection (1) by—

(a) providing accommodation or other resources, or

(b) entering into arrangements with any other person for the provision of accommodation or other resources.

(3) The powers to acquire land for the public service conferred by—

(a) section 2 of the Commissioners of Works Act 1852 (c. 28) (acquisition by agreement), and

(b) section 228(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (c. 8) (compulsory acquisition),

are to be treated as including power to acquire land for the purpose of its provision under arrangements under subsection (2)(b).

(4) The Scottish Ministers may make payments by way of contribution to the costs incurred by the Lord Chancellor in providing the Court with resources in accordance with subsection (1)(b).

(5) In this section “court-house” means any place where the Court sits, including the precincts of any building in which it sits.

51 System to support Court in carrying on business

(1) The chief executive of the Supreme Court must ensure that the Court’s resources are used to provide an efficient and effective system to support the Court in carrying on its business.

(2) In particular—

(a) appropriate services must be provided for the Court;

(b) the accommodation provided under section 50 must be appropriately equipped, maintained and managed.