Jurisdictions of the United Kingdom
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The
United Kingdom 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 ...
has four
legal systems The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and ...
, each of which derives from a particular geographical area for a variety of historical reasons:
English and Welsh law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, been ...
,
Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...
,
Northern Ireland law The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since the partition of Ireland established Northern Ireland as a distinct jurisdiction in 1921. Prior to 1921, Northern Ireland was part of ...
, and, since 2007, purely
Welsh law Welsh law ( cy, Cyfraith Cymru) is an autonomous part of the English law system composed of legislation made by the Senedd.Law Society of England and Wales (2019)England and Wales: A World Jurisdiction of Choice eport(Link accessed: 16 March 2022 ...
(as a result of the passage of
Welsh devolution Welsh devolution (Welsh: ''Datganoli i Gymru'') is the transfer of legislative power for self-governance to Wales by the Government of the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered by England during the 13th century; the 1284 Statute of Rhuddlan caused ...
and the
Government of Wales Act 2006 The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system o ...
by Parliament). Overarching these systems is the law of the United Kingdom, also known as United Kingdom law (often abbreviated UK law), or British law. UK law arises from laws applying to the United Kingdom and/or its citizens as a whole, most obviously
constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...
, but also other areas - for instance, tax law. In fulfilment of its former EU treaty obligations,
European Union directive A directive is a legal act of the European Union that requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. Directives first have to be enacted into national law by member states before thei ...
s were actively transposed into the UK legal systems under the UK parliament's law-making power. Upon
Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
, EU law was transplanted into domestic law as "retained EU law", though the UK remained temporarily in alignment with EU regulations during the
transition period The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...
from 31 January to 31 December 2020.


Three legal systems

There are three distinct legal jurisdictions in the United Kingdom:
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. Each has its own
legal system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...
, distinct history and origins. There is a substantial overlap between these three legal systems and the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom:
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, and
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. Unlike the other three, Welsh law is not a separate legal system , merely the primary and secondary legislation generated by the
Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...
, interpreted in accordance with the doctrines of English law and not impacting upon
English common law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, bee ...
(except where such Welsh legislation ousts a common law rule by virtue of being a superior form of law). The UK does not have a single legal system because it was created by the political union of previously independent countries. Article 19 of the
Treaty of Union The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty which led to the creation of the new state of Great Britain, stating that the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland were to be "United i ...
, put into effect by the Acts of Union in 1707, created the Kingdom of Great Britain but guaranteed the continued existence of Scotland's and England's separate legal systems. The Acts of Union of 1800, which joined Great Britain and Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, contained no equivalent provisions but preserved the principle of different courts to be held in Ireland, of which the part called Northern Ireland continues to follow as part of the United Kingdom. Each legal system defaults to its jurisdiction, each of whose courts further that law through jurisprudence. Choice of which jurisdiction's law to use is possible in
private law Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the ''jus commune'' that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts (as it is called in the common law), and the law of obligations ( ...
: For example, a company in Edinburgh, Scotland and a company in Belfast, Northern Ireland are free to contract in English law. This is not so in
public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...
(for example, criminal law), where there are set rules of procedure in each jurisdiction.


England and Wales

''English and Welsh law'' refers to the
legal system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...
administered by the courts in England and Wales, which rule on both civil and criminal matters. English and Welsh law is based on the principles of common law. English and Welsh law can be described as having its own legal doctrine, distinct from civil law legal systems since 1189. There has been no major codification of the law, rather the law is developed by
judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
s in court, applying
statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
, precedent and case-by-case reasoning to give explanatory judgments of the relevant legal principles. These judgments are binding in future similar cases (''
stare decisis A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...
''), and for this reason are often reported in law reports. The courts of England and Wales are headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the
Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the
Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...
(for criminal cases). The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land for both criminal and civil appeal cases in England and Wales (also in Northern Ireland cases and civil cases in Scots law) and any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the same jurisdiction, and often has persuasive effect in its other jurisdictions. On appeal, a court may overrule the decisions of its inferior courts, such as county courts (civil) and magistrates' courts (criminal). The High Court may also quash on judicial review both administrative decisions of the Government and delegated legislation. Before the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
was created in October 2009, the highest appellate body was the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (usually just referred to as "The House of Lords"). After the
Acts of Union, in 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...
English law became one of two legal systems in different parts of the same United Kingdom and has been influenced by Scots law, most notably in the development and integration of the law merchant by Lord Mansfield and in time the development of the law of negligence. Scottish influence may have influenced the abolition of the forms of action in the nineteenth century and extensive procedural reforms in the twentieth. Since the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities in 1973, English law has also been affected by European law under the
Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was sig ...
.


Wales

Welsh law is the primary and secondary legislation generated by the
Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...
, using the devolved authority granted in the
Government of Wales Act 2006 The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system o ...
(amended substantially by Wales Act 2014 and
Wales Act 2017 The Wales Act 2017 (c. 7) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out amendments to the Government of Wales Act 2006 and devolves further powers to Wales. The legislation is based on the proposals of the St David's Day Comman ...
) and in effect since May 2007. Each piece of Welsh legislation is known as an
Act of Senedd Cymru An Act of Senedd Cymru ( cy, Deddf gan Senedd Cymru), or informally an Act of the Senedd, is primary legislation that can be made by the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ) under part 4 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (as amended by the Wales Act ...
. However, as there is no criminal law within contemporary Welsh law, Wales is not generally considered a fourth jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. This is because the judiciary and the courts follow England and Wales law, which is made by the Parliament at Westminster, and is not specific to Wales. Although Welsh law is recognised as separate in operation, this is not sufficient for Wales to constitute a separate legal jurisdiction. A commission set up in 2017 by the
First Minister of Wales , insignia = First Minister of Wales logo.png , insigniasize = 120px , insigniacaption = Logo , flag = Flag of Wales.svg , flagsize = 120px , flagborder = yes , flagcaption = Flag of Wales , image = File:Mark Drakeford (cropped).jpg , ...
known as "The Commission on Justice in Wales" and chaired by Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, looked into the operation of justice in the country. Its aim was to further clarify the legal and political identity of Wales within the UK constitution. The commission's report was released in October 2019 and recommended the full devolution of the justice system. This would formalise Wales as the fourth jurisdiction of the UK.


Northern Ireland

The law of Northern Ireland is a common law system. It is administered by the courts of Northern Ireland, with ultimate appeal to the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
in both civil and criminal matters. The law of Northern Ireland is closely similar to English law, the rules of common law having been imported into the
Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...
under English rule. However, there are important differences. The sources of the law of Northern Ireland are Irish common law, and statute law. Of the latter, statutes of the Parliaments of Ireland, of the United Kingdom and of Northern Ireland are in force, and latterly statutes of the devolved
Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral , hou ...
. The courts of Northern Ireland are headed by the Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland, consisting of the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, the Northern Ireland High Court of Justice and the Northern Ireland Crown Court. Below that are county courts and magistrates' courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land for both criminal and civil appeal cases in Northern Ireland and any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the same jurisdiction and often has persuasive effect in its other jurisdictions.


Scotland

Scots law is a unique legal system with an ancient basis in Roman law. Grounded in
uncodified In law, codification is the process of collecting and restating the law of a jurisdiction in certain areas, usually by subject, forming a legal code, i.e. a codex (book) of law. Codification is one of the Civil law (legal system)#Codification, d ...
civil law dating back to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'', it also features elements of common law with medieval sources. Thus
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
has a pluralistic, or 'mixed', legal system, comparable to that of South Africa, and, to a lesser degree, the partly codified pluralistic systems of Louisiana and Quebec. Since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain under the 1707 Acts of Union, Scots law has shared a legislature with
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
, and while each retained fundamentally different legal systems, the 1707 Union brought English and Welsh influence upon Scots law, and vice versa. Since the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities in 1973 Scots law has also been affected by European law under the
Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was sig ...
. The establishment of
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
in 1999, which legislates within domestic areas of legislative competence, has created a further major source of Scots law. The chief courts are the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...
, for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases. The
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law, with leave to appeal from the Court of Session not required as a general rule. However, unlike in the rest of the United Kingdom, the Supreme Court has no role as the highest court of appeal for Scottish criminal cases: this is forbidden by Article XIX of the
Treaty of Union The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty which led to the creation of the new state of Great Britain, stating that the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland were to be "United i ...
between Scotland and England. Sheriff courts deal with most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known as sheriff solemn court, or with a sheriff and no jury, known as sheriff summary court. The sheriff courts provide a local court service with 49 sheriff courts organised across six
sheriffdom A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a ...
s. The Scottish legal system is unique in having three possible verdicts for a criminal trial: " guilty", " not guilty" and " not proven". Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an
acquittal In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
with no possibility of retrial. In very rare circumstances, the High Court of Justiciary can create new criminal offences without reference to Parliament, using its
declaratory power The declaratory power, in Scots law, is an unusual power held by the High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a tria ...
to do so. The
Cabinet Secretary for Justice The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, commonly referred to as the Justice Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary has overall responsibility for law and order in Scotland. The Cabinet Secreta ...
is the member of the Scottish Government responsible for Police Scotland, the courts and criminal justice, and the Scottish Prison Service, which manages the prisons in Scotland.


Retained EU law

Retained EU law (REUL) is a category of law in the United Kingdom created at the end of the transition period following the UK's
withdrawal from the EU Withdrawal from the European Union is the legal and political process whereby an EU member state ceases to be a member of the Union. Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union ( TEU) states that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from t ...
. REUL includes EU legislation which was "cut and pasted" into domestic law, along with certain domestic laws whose role was to implement EU regulations and directives. The objective of REUL is to maintain "legislative continuity".


Courts and tribunals

The
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
is the highest court in the UK for all criminal and civil cases in
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
and Northern Ireland, and for all civil cases in Scots law. , Department for Constitutional Affairs; accessed 22 May 2006. The Supreme Court is also the final court (in the normal sense of the term) for interpreting United Kingdom law. Note, however, that, unlike in some other systems (for example, the United States), the Supreme Court cannot strike down statutes and its precedents can be expressly overridden by Parliament, by virtue of the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. The Supreme Court came into being in October 2009, replacing the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. In
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
, the court system is headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the
Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...
(for criminal cases). The Courts of Northern Ireland follow the same pattern. In Scotland, the chief courts are the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...
, for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases. Sheriff courts, as they deal with both criminal and civil caseloads, have no equivalent outside Scotland. Certain tribunals for administrative law cases have UK-wide jurisdiction, notably those dealing with immigration—the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and Special Immigration Appeals Commission—military and national security, competition and intellectual property, and a few others. Similarly, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has jurisdiction throughout Great Britain but not in Northern Ireland. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is also the highest court of appeal for several independent
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
countries, the
British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
, and the British Crown Dependencies.


United Kingdom legislatures


United Kingdom Parliament

The Parliament of the United Kingdom is bicameral, with an upper house - the House of Lords, and a lower house - the British House of Commons, House of Commons. The House of Lords includes two different types of members: The Lords Spiritual (the senior bishops of the Church of England) and the Lords Temporal (members of the Peerage); its members are not elected by the population at large. The House of Commons is a democratically elected chamber. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster (commonly known as the "Houses of Parliament"), in the City of Westminster in London. By constitutional convention (political custom), constitutional convention, all political minister, government ministers, including the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister, are members of the House of Commons or House of Lords. Parliament evolved from the Early Middle Ages, early medieval councils that advised the sovereigns of List of monarchs of England, England and List of monarchs of Scotland, Scotland. In theory, power is vested not in Parliament, but in the "King-in-Parliament" (or "Queen-in-Parliament"). The King-in-Parliament is, according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, completely sovereign with the power to make and unmake any law other than to bind itself. In modern times, real power is vested in the House of Commons; the Sovereign acts only as a figurehead and the powers of the House of Lords are greatly limited. The parliament retains some law-making powers for some jurisdictions outside of the United Kingdom proper.


Northern Ireland Assembly

The Northern Ireland Assembly ( ga, Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster Scots (linguistics), Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Semmlie'') is the devolution, devolved legislature of
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved and excepted matters, reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. It sits at Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland), Parliament Buildings at Stormont, Belfast, Stormont in Belfast. The latest incarnation of the Assembly was established under the Belfast Agreement, Good Friday Agreement of 1998, an accord aimed at bringing an end to Northern Ireland's violent 30-year The Troubles, Troubles. It is based on the principle of Consociationalism, power-sharing under the D'Hondt method to ensure that Northern Ireland's largest political communities, the Unionism in Ireland, unionist and Irish nationalism, nationalist communities both participate in governing the region. The Assembly is a unicameral, democracy, democratically elected body comprising 90 members who are known as Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland), Members of the Legislative Assembly, or MLAs. Members are elected under the single transferable vote form of proportional representation.


Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots language, Scots: ''Scots Pairlament'') is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of the capital Edinburgh. The Parliament, which is informally referred to as "Holyrood" (cf. "Parliament of the United Kingdom, Westminster"), is a democratically elected body of 129 members who are known as Members of the Scottish Parliament or MSPs. Members are elected for four-year terms under the Additional Member System of proportional representation. As a result, 73 MSPs represent individual geographical Scottish Parliament constituencies, constituencies elected by the plurality voting system ("first past the post"), with a further 56 returned from eight Additional member system (Scottish Parliament), additional member regions, each electing seven MSPs. The Scottish Parliament, as it was created by devolution and an act of parliament, does not get its legislative powers by virtue of sovereignty or by virtue of `being the Scottish Parliament`. Rather, it legally exists as a subset of Westminster and derives its powers as such. The original Parliament of Scotland (or "Estates of Scotland") was the national legislature of the independent Kingdom of Scotland and existed from the early thirteenth century until the Kingdom of Scotland merged with the Kingdom of England under the Acts of Union 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. As a consequence, the Parliament of Scotland merged with the Parliament of England, to form the Parliament of Great Britain, which sat at Westminster in London.


Senedd

Since 2007, the
Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...
(Welsh Parliament; cy, Senedd Cymru), previously known as the 'National Assembly for Wales', has been invested with legislative powers. It is situated in Cardiff. The Senedd, first elected in 1999, is a democratically elected body of 60 members who are known as Members of the Senedd or MSs. Members are elected for five-year terms under the Additional Member System of proportional representation. As a result, 40 MSs represent individual geographical constituencies elected by the plurality voting system ("first past the post"), with a further 20 returned from five additional member regions, each region electing four MSs.


Related legal systems

After centuries of settlement and conquest, the United Kingdom has legal relationships to many territories outside its borders. These include sovereign states that do and do not share a monarch and judicial institutions with the UK, and dependent territory, dependencies where the UK government, parliament, and crown do retain some power.


Independent sovereign states with British legal history

Most List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom, countries that have gained independence from the UK are no longer subject to the British parliament, monarchy, or courts. They consist of a mix of republics (for example Ireland and India) and local monarchies (for example Kuwait and Brunei) with no relationship to the royal House of Windsor. The colonies and possessions were created and separated from the UK under a wide variety of circumstances, resulting in a spectrum of influence of British law in domestic law. At the strongly influenced end of the spectrum, for example, is the United States. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 explicitly applied English Common Law to all British overseas colonies, and affirmed some degree of local law-making. The American Revolutionary War resulted in a unilateral separation recognized by the Peace of Paris (1783), but the English system continued to be used as the basis for court decisions. Over time, it was modified by the United States Constitution, state constitutions, and federal and state court decisions particular to their own jurisdictions. Colonial land grants of the British kings still remained relevant in some later boundary disputes of the former Thirteen Colonies, though adjudicated by the Supreme Court of the United States. But some parts of the United States not subject to British rule have laws based on other traditions, such as French civil law in Louisiana, and Native American law in Tribal sovereignty in the United States, areas of tribal sovereignty. Some countries were granted independence by an act of the UK parliament (for example, the Statute of Westminster 1931) and have likewise diverged from UK law either under or after British rule. An example at the other end of the spectrum, despite occasional control for geopolitical reasons, British law had little impact on the law of Afghanistan.


Independent sovereign states with shared institutions

By special agreement, the UK-based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council acts as the court of highest appeal for three former colonies which are now republics (Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, and for constitutional rights, Kiribati) and has a special consultation agreement with the Sultan of Brunei.


Commonwealth realms

Commonwealth realms (for example Australia) are former colonies that are now sovereign states fully independent of the UK parliament. However, they share other legal institutions with the UK, to varying degrees. King Charles III remains the constitutional monarch of each realm in its own right, and retains a limited set of powers (royal prerogative) to be exercised either personally or through a local viceroy. Most powers are irrevocably delegated to a parliament more or less modelled on the Westminster system. Crimes in Commonwealth realms are prosecuted in the name of the crown, and the crown remains the notional arbiter of disputes. In some realms appeals may be directed to the monarch as a last resort. Adjudication of these appeals is delegated to Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which draws judges from the UK and across the Commonwealth. In other realms, a domestic court has been made the highest court of appeal. (See for full list.) The "Imperial" Privy Council based in England advises the shared monarch on the use of royal prerogatives and parliament-authorized powers in the form of Orders in Council, and can also issue its own delegated Orders of Council. In some countries, a domestic council performs this function, namely: * Federal Executive Council (Australia) * King's Privy Council for Canada * Executive Council of New Zealand Similar to other former colonies, Commonwealth realms also share a common legal history with the UK. For example, Canada underwent a long period of patriation of its constitution, beginning with the Constitution Act, 1867 and ending with the Constitution Act, 1982. Like their southern neighbours, the Proclamation of 1763 extended English Common law to all the Canadian colonies, including Nova Scotia (which being Scottish might have operated under
Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...
). French civil law was later re-applied to Quebec.


Crown Dependencies

The Channel Islands are held by the British Monarch by virtue of inheriting the feudal title of Duke of Normandy. These were never part of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, or the United Kingdom. Most of the historical Duchy of Normandy is on the European continent and was conquered by France. The Isle of Man is held by the British Monarch by virtue of inheriting the feudal title of Lord of Mann. It was previously ruled by Norway, England, and Scotland, before the feudal rights were purchased from Scottish dukes (after English-Scottish unification) by the United Kingdom in 1765. Due to local opposition, it was never merged into England as previously planned, and remains a distinct possession of the monarchy. Each jurisdiction has a locally elected parliament with broad but not unlimited autonomy. The British monarchy retains responsibility for defence, citizenship law, and foreign affairs of the dependencies, and has delegated these responsibilities to the UK government and parliament. The UK parliament generally acts in consultation or gains the consent of the local government when passing laws that have effect in the dependencies. Residents of the dependencies do not have representation in the UK parliament. UK law does not apply to the dependencies unless explicitly stated, and such laws are almost always executed by the monarch in the form of an Order in Council. Whether the UK parliament retains the power to pass laws against the will of the local governments is disputed, and was tested with the Marine, &c., Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967. Legal cases may be appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Residents are treated the same as residents of the UK for the purposes of British nationality law, though local governments control local immigration and employment. Prior to Brexit this made citizens of the British dependencies EU citizens, but the exchange of people and goods with the EU and UK was subject to Special member state territories and the European Union#Former special territories, special arrangements.


British Overseas Territories

Though not considered internal to the boundaries of United Kingdom, the UK maintains control over British Overseas Territories. Unlike Commonwealth realms, BOTs fall within the Monarchy of the United Kingdom. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the court of final appeal. Three of the BOT are uninhabited, and Akrotiri and Dhekelia is military property; in these places, the UK government rules directly and on all matters. The inhabited British Overseas Territories do not have representation in the UK parliament, and are thus on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. Residents of Gibraltar, prior to Brexit were the only BOT which was a part of the European Union, and voted for a representative in the European Parliament in the South West England (European Parliament constituency), South West England district. Prior to Brexit all citizens of British Overseas Territories were EU citizens, even though European Union law only applied in Gibraltar and the United Kingdom proper. The inhabited territories each have their own legal system (based largely on English common law), with autonomy varying considerably with the size of the population. For example, Bermuda, Gibraltar, and the Falkland Islands are autonomously governed by their locally elected parliaments, with the UK responsible only for defence and foreign affairs (and granting limited autonomy to local governments to have relations with other countries and international organizations). On the sparsely populated Pitcairn Islands, the representative of the UK government has nearly unlimited powers. British nationality law, Citizenship and nationality law is governed by the UK parliament, but immigration is controlled by local governments. The UK parliament retains the ultimate legislative power, and ensures good governance.


See also

*British nationality law *British labour law *Constitution of the United Kingdom *Copyright law of the United Kingdom *Legal education in the United Kingdom *List of Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom *Software patents under United Kingdom patent law *United Kingdom company law *UK commercial law *UK competition law *United Kingdom trade mark law


References


External links


UK legislation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Law Of The United Kingdom Law of the United Kingdom,