The British Islands is a term within the
law of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has four legal systems, each of which derives from a particular geographical area for a variety of historical reasons: English and Welsh law, Scots law, Northern Ireland law, and, since 2007, purely Welsh law (as a result o ...
which refers collectively to the following four
polities
A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of p ...
:
* the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
(formerly the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...
);
* the
Bailiwick of Guernsey (including the jurisdictions of
Alderney,
Guernsey and
Sark
Sark (french: link=no, Sercq, ; Sercquiais: or ) is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of ...
); and
* the
Bailiwick of Jersey;
* the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
.
The Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey are
Crown Dependencies and are not a part of the United Kingdom. The
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
on occasions introduces legislation that is extended to the islands, normally by the use of
Orders in Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''King ...
. For this reason it has been found useful to have a collective term for the combined territories. A statutory definition can be found in Schedule 1 of the
Interpretation Act 1978
The Interpretation Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision for the interpretation of Acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Assembly, subor ...
.
The term The United Kingdom and the Islands is used in the
Immigration Act 1971.
Statutory definition
Section 5 of the
Interpretation Act 1978
The Interpretation Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act makes provision for the interpretation of Acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Assembly, subor ...
provides that "in any
Act, unless the contrary intention appears" the expression "British Islands" is to be construed according to Schedule 1 of that Act, which contains the following paragraph:
Subject to paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 2, that paragraph of Schedule 1 applies, so far as applicable, to Acts passed after the year 1889.
Paragraph 4(2) provides:
The
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...
was established on 6 December 1922 and the Interpretation Act 1978 came into force on 1 January 1979.
The Interpretation Act 1978 applies to itself and to any Act passed after the commencement of that Act and, to the extent specified in Part I of Schedule 2, to Acts passed before the commencement of that Act.
This definition of "British Islands" does not include the
British Overseas Territories.
History
The expression "British Islands" was formerly defined by section 18(1) of the
Interpretation Act 1889
The Interpretation Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict c 63) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
In Northern IrelandSection 48(2)of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 provided that without prejudice to 48(1) of that Act, the Inte ...
. This definition applied to the Interpretation Act 1889 itself, and to every Act passed after the commencement of that Act on 1 January 1890.
Section 19 of the
Lloyd's Signal Stations Act 1888 contained a definition of "British Islands". The Lloyd's Signal Stations Act 1888 was repealed by the
Lloyd's Act 1982.
Colonial statutes
Section 5(2) of the
Interpretation Ordinance, 1891 of
British Guiana contained a definition of "British Islands".
Section 2 of the Interpretation Ordinance (c 2) (1953) of
British Honduras
British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973, contained a definition of "British Islands".
Section 28(ii) of the
Interpretation and Common Form Ordinance, 1903 of the
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, ...
contained a definition of "British Islands".
Law
Section 13(3) of the Foreign and Colonial Parcel Post Warrant 1897 (SR & O 1897/721) and section 6(2) of the Foreign and Colonial Post (Insured Boxes) Warrant 1908 (SR & O 1908/1313) refer to "the law of the British Islands".
Inland
Inland postal packets
Section 62(16) of the Inland Post Warrant 1936 (SR & O 1936/618) defined the expression "Inland" in terms of the British Islands.
Inland bills
The definition of "
inland bill" in section 4(1) of the
Bills of Exchange Act 1882
The Bills of Exchange Act 1882 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament concerning bills of exchange. The Act was drafted by Sir Mackenzie Chalmers, who later drafted the Sale of Goods Act 1893 and the Marine Insurance Act 1906.
Bills of exchange ...
refers to the British Islands.
Defence
Section 26(1)(a) of the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 states:
Fisheries
The exclusive fishery limits of the British Islands were defined by section 28 of the
Sea Fisheries Act 1883. This definition was repealed by Schedule 2 to the
Fishery Limits Act 1964
Fishery can mean either the Big business, enterprise of Animal husbandry#Aquaculture, raising or Fishing, harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place (wikt:AKA, a.k.a. fishing ground). Com ...
.
The
fishery limits of the British Islands were defined by section 1(1) of the Fishery Limits Act 1964. This provision was repealed by the
Fishery Limits Act 1976.
Extradition
Piggott said the effect of section 37 of the
Fugitive Offenders Act 1881
A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also kno ...
was to make of the British Islands one coherent whole for the purposes of that Act. That Act was repealed by Schedule 2 to the
Fugitive Offenders Act 1967
A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also kno ...
.
Passports
The expression "British Islands" has been included on the covers of
passports of the Isle of Man,
passports of Guernsey and
passports of Jersey.
[Treaty Series. United Nations. 2000. Volume 1648. Pages]
382
and 386. House of Commons Justice Committee. Crown Dependencies. Session 2009 to 2010. Eighth Report. (HC 56). Volume 2
Ev 36
para 22
Jersey and Guernsey passports to be printed in the UK
BBC News. 11 November 2013
Manx passport change 'two years away'
BBC News. 27 August 2010.
See also
*
British Isles naming dispute
The toponym "British Isles" refers to a European archipelago consisting of Great Britain, Ireland, and adjacent islands. The word "British" is also an adjective and demonym referring to the United Kingdom and more historically associate ...
*
List of islands of the British Isles
This article is a list of some of the islands that form the British Isles that have an area of one kilometre squared (247 acres) or larger, listing area and population data. The total area of the islands is 314,965 km2 (121,608 sq. mi.).
*
Terminology of the British Isles
The terminology of the British Isles refers to the words and phrases that are used to describe the (sometimes overlapping) geographical and political areas of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and the smaller islands which surround them. Th ...
Notes
References
*Stroud's Judicial Dictionary.
**Frederick Stroud. "British Islands". The Judicial Dictionary. First Edition. 1890. p 90
See also "Inland" at p 391.
*John B Saunders (ed). "British Islands". Words and Phrases Legally Defined. Second Edition. Butterworths. 1969
Volume 1
Page 187. See also pages 8 and 278.
*Words and Phrases Legally Defined. Fourth Edition. 2007
Volume 1
Pages 7, 84, 192 and 280.
*Kenneth Roberts-Wray
Commonwealth and Colonial Law
Frederick A Praeger. 1966. Pages 31, 33 to 37, 40, 72, 363, 428, 533, 663 et seq.
*Hilaire Barnett. Constitutional & Administrative Law. Fourth Edition. Cavendish Publishing Limited. 2002. Page
64
to 66. Tenth Edition. Routledge. 2013. Page
16
to 18. See also page 531.
*A W Bradley and K D Ewing. Constitutional and Administrative Law. Fourteenth Edition. Pearson Education Limited. (Pearson Longman). 2007
Page 35
*Knapp (ed). "The British Islands". International Enclopedia of Comparative Law. Mouton. The Hague. Mohr. Tubingen. 1976. Volume 1. National Reports: U. Appendix
Page U-103
et seq.
*Kenneth R Simmonds, "The British Islands and the Community: I–Jersey" (1969
6
Common Market Law Review 156
*Kenneth R Simmonds, "The British Islands and the Community: II—The Isle of Man" (1970
7
Common Market Law Review 454
*Kenneth R Simmonds, "The British Islands and the Community: III Guernsey" (1971
8
Common Market Law Review 475
*Tony Wright (ed). The British Political Process: An Introduction. Routledge. London and New York. 2000. Page 19:
*Paul Rylance. Writing and Drafting in Legal Practice. Oxford University Press. 2012. Paragraph 28.4.2 a
page 243
*Burnand, Burnett Hall, Boland and Watts (eds). The Annual Practice 1949. (66th Annual Issue). Sweet & Maxwell. Stevens and Sons. Butterworth & Co. London. Volume 2. Page 3214.
External links
*
Interpretation Act, 1978(unofficial text)
{{portalbar, United Kingdom
British Islands,
1889 establishments in the United Kingdom
1889 in British law
Terminology of the British Isles
Law of the United Kingdom