516.Section 63 amends sections 12 and 16 of the Administration of Justice Act 1969 in order to widen the scope for appeals from the High Court to be made directly to the Supreme Court.
517.Subsection (2) amends subsection (1) of section 12 and provides for an appeal to the Supreme Court where the alternative conditions in subsection (3A) of section 12 (inserted by subsection (3) of this section) are satisfied. Subsection (2) also removes the requirement for all parties to the proceedings to consent to a leapfrog appeal.
518.Subsection (3) inserts a new subsection (3A) into section 12 which provides that a certificate for appeal straight to the Supreme Court may be granted where the appeal raises a point of law of general public importance and one of three conditions (set out in paragraphs (a) to (c) of the new subsection) is met. The effect of this is to expand the circumstances under which an appeal is allowed to leapfrog, to include cases which raise issues of national importance, cases where the result is of particular significance, and cases where the benefits of not delaying consideration by the Supreme Court outweigh the benefits of consideration by the Court of Appeal. Appeals will still have to be on a point of law of general public importance.
519.Currently under the 1969 Act leapfrogging to the Supreme Court from the High Court in Northern Ireland is possible in the same circumstances as from the High Court in England and Wales. Subsection (4), however, inserts a new subsection (1A) into section 16 of the Administration of Justice Act 1969. The effect of this new subsection is that section 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1969 will continue to apply in relation to Northern Ireland as if the changes made by subsections (2) and (3) were not made.