UK Supreme Court – the hearing

Speaking Notes

Aidan O’Neill KC has kindly given permission to publish his speaking notes. It is important to understand that these are the notes of what he hoped to cover in oral presentations (with footnotes for reference and to assist in answering questions) and are not an accurate record of what was in fact said in court.


Video – courtesy of the Supreme Court:

26th November:

  • Morning session – Aidan O’Neill KC for FWS (10.30am to 1pm)
  • Afternoon session – Aidan O’Neill KC for FWS (2pm to 3pm), Ben Cooper KC for Sex Matters (3pm to 4pm)

27th November:

  • Morning session – Ruth Crawford KC and Lesley Irvine Advocate for the Scottish Ministers (10.30am to 12.55pm)
  • Afternoon session – Ruth Crawford KC for the Scottish Ministers, (1.55pm to 2.35pm); Jason Coppel KC for the EHRC (2.35pm to 3.40pm); Aidan O’Neill KC for FWS (3.40pm to 4pm)

Live tweet threads – courtesy of Tribunal Tweets:

26th November:

27th November:

More information is available on their Substack page about the case.


Our CrowdJustice fundraiser to cover the legal costs of this case is still open and we would very much appreciate your support.


NB: The written cases that all parties and interveners submitted to the court prior to the hearing are available here.