Legal topics
Browse the corpus by the issue the court had to decide, not by the name of the case. Every brief is tagged to one or more topics, so a topic page collects the leading authorities, the sub-issues that recur and the judges who reason on them.
Most researched topics
Each card shows how much of the corpus sits behind the topic — judgments first, then the briefs written from them.
3,918 judgments · 1,204 briefs. Whether the court has power to hear the matter at all — appellate, pecuniary and territorial limits.
8,412 judgments · 2,660 briefs. Reading Articles 1–260: the bill of rights, devolution and the separation of powers.
6,077 judgments · 1,918 briefs. Text, purpose and context — and the presumption that a legislature does not use words to no effect.
9,845 judgments · 3,104 briefs. Charge, plea, bail, trial and appeal, including the right to a fair hearing under Article 50.
7,233 judgments · 2,411 briefs. Mandatory minimums, totality, credit for time in remand and the Sentencing Guidelines.
4,506 judgments · 1,472 briefs. Admissibility, hearsay, confessions and the standard of proof in civil and criminal cases.
8,708 judgments · 2,902 briefs. Title, adverse possession, compulsory acquisition and the jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court.
12,441 judgments · 3,880 briefs. Dismissal, redundancy, union recognition and the ELRC's exclusive remit.
412 judgments · 196 briefs. Defamation, privacy, broadcast licensing and contempt in the digital press.
Emerging topics
Topics whose judgment volume has grown fastest in the current year. Growth is measured against the same period last year, so a slow month does not distort the figure.
| Topic | Judgments in 2026 | Change on 2025 | Where it is being litigated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital lending and data protection | 214 | +68% | High Court · Court of Appeal |
| Public participation in county legislation | 187 | +41% | Supreme Court · High Court |
| Climate and environmental impact litigation | 96 | +33% | Environment and Land Court |
| Tax appeals from the Tax Appeals Tribunal | 302 | +27% | High Court · Court of Appeal |
| Contempt and commentary on social media | 58 | +22% | High Court · Court of Appeal |
| Sports and doping disputes | 41 | +19% | High Court |
How a topic page is put together
Topics are assigned by the same reading pass that produces the briefs, so a topic page is a view of the corpus rather than a separate index.
Every brief is tagged to the issues the court actually decided — the questions framed, not the subject matter of the file.
Cases on a topic are ordered by how often they are relied on in later judgments, so the leading authority is at the top.
A topic is broken into the sub-issues that recur across the corpus, each with its own line of authority.
Follow a topic, not a keyword.
Save a topic and we will tell you when a judgment in it is decided — with the brief and the judgment text attached.