The last hearings and judgments in the House of Lords took place on 30 July and the new Supreme Court opened on 1 October 2009.

The Supreme Court comprises of 12 judges, known as „Justices of the Supreme Court“, they include a President and Deputy President, appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Commission.

The first members of the Supreme Court were the existing 12 Law Lords (Lords of Appeal in Ordinary) who now sit in the new Court which occupies the former Middlesex Guildhall, opposite the Houses of Parliament.