Olympics delay court deadlines

Appeals deadlines have been pushed back for legal teams working on some of the most significant cases in the UK and Commonwealth so they do not clash with the Olympics, the Supreme Court has said.

Registry offices for the Supreme Court, the UK's highest senior appeal court for both civil and criminal cases, and the Privy Council's Judicial Committee, for Commonwealth matters, will shut from July 26 at 4.30pm to August 13 at 10am meaning that key papers can not be lodged during that time.

Officials hope the deadline delay will be a stress-busting move for legal professionals by helping them avoid the congested trips they would have to make to work through the heavy Olympic traffic, a spokesman said.

No hearings are set as the court will be in recess but, unlike in any other year, any deadlines that fall in this period have been delayed to August 13.

The court would expect to receive approximately 50 deliveries of papers and packages from legal firms in an average week.

The move affects lawyers needing to lodge fresh appeal papers, to lodge a response to an ongoing case or who must file documents ahead of a hearing that is due to start when the new legal year starts in October.

A Supreme Court spokesman said: "We have taken the decision to stop the clock on the deadline for lodging appeal papers with the Court over the period of the Olympic Games to help reduce extra journeys into central London at what is expected to be a very busy time.

"The entire court service is having to look at how its services will be affected during this exceptional period.

"We hope that our small contribution to cutting traffic will also ease some of the stress for legal professionals working on proceedings to be heard here after the summer break."