Supreme court inaugurated

Britain\'s first Supreme Court officially replaces the Privy Council today.



The new body will be the final court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.



It replaces the appellate committee of Britain\'s upper legislative chamber, the House of Lords.



The UK Supreme Court takes over from the Privy Council, which still serves as the final court of appeal for most CARICOM countries.



The Court\'s president, Lord Nicholas Phillips, has said the senior judges who make up the council were spending too much time on cases from former colonies, mostly in the Caribbean.