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England and Wales | |
|---|---|
Legal jurisdiction | |
 | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Formed | 1535–1542 |
| Government | |
| • Body | Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Area | |
| • Land | 58,320 sq mi (151,047 km2) |
| Population (2024)[1] | |
• Total | 61,806,682 |
| • Density | 1,060/sq mi (409/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| GSS code | K04000001 |
| Ethnic groups (2024)[2] | |
England and Wales (Welsh:Cymru a Lloegr) is one of thethree legal jurisdictions of theUnited Kingdom. It covers the constituent countriesEngland andWales and was formed by theLaws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction isEnglish law.
ThedevolvedSenedd (Welsh Parliament;Welsh:Senedd Cymru) – previously named the National Assembly for Wales – was created in 1999 under theGovernment of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree ofself-government in Wales. The powers of the legislature were expanded by theGovernment of Wales Act 2006, which allows it to passits own laws, and the Act also formally separated theWelsh Government from the Senedd. There is currently noequivalent body for England, which is directly governed by the parliament andgovernment of the United Kingdom.
During theRoman occupation of Britain, the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, except for the land to the north ofHadrian's Wall – though the Roman-occupied area varied in extent, and for a time extended to theAntonine/Severan Wall. It is thought that at that time most of the native inhabitants ofRoman Britain spokeBrythonic languages, but they were all regarded asBritons, divided into numerous tribes. After the conquest, the Romans administered this region as a single unit, theprovince ofBritain.
Long after the departure of the Romans, the Britons in what became Wales developed theirown system of law, first codified byHywel Dda (Hywel the Good; reigned 942–950) when he was king of most of present-day Wales (compareKing of Wales); in EnglandAnglo-Saxon law was initially codified byAlfred the Great in hisLegal Code,c. 893. However, after theNorman invasion of Wales in the 11th century,English law came to apply in the parts of Wales conquered by theNormans (theWelsh Marches). In 1283, the English, led byEdward I, with the biggest army brought together in England since the 11th century,conquered the remainder of Wales, then organised as thePrincipality of Wales. This was then united with the English crown by theStatute of Rhuddlan of 1284. This aimed to replace Welsh criminal law with English law.
Welsh law continued to be used for civil cases until the annexation of Wales to England in the 16th century by the WelshHouse of Tudor. TheLaws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 then consolidated the administration of all the Welsh territories and incorporated them fully into the legal system of theKingdom of England.[3] This was in part to update outdated Welsh laws, but also to control Wales alongside England; through these acts, the Welsh could be seen as equals to the English.[4] This was reflected on bothHenry VIII andElizabeth I's coat of arms where the dragon represented Wales and the lion represented England.[5] When the Tudor dynasty ended with the death ofElizabeth I thered dragon of Wales was replaced with theunicorn of Scotland with the succession ofKing James I who demoted Wales' status on the coat of arms and on the first adaptation of theFlag of Great Britain.[6][7]
Prior to 1746, it was not clear whether a reference to "England" in legislation included Wales, and so in 1746, Parliament passed theWales and Berwick Act 1746. This specified that in all prior and future laws, references to "England" would by default include Wales (andBerwick-upon-Tweed). The Wales and Berwick Act was repealed by theWelsh Language Act 1967, although the statutory definition of "England" created by that Act still applies for laws passed before 1967. In new legislation since then, what was referred to as "England" is now "England and Wales", while subsequent references to "England" and "Wales" refer to those political divisions.[citation needed]
There have been multiple calls from both Welsh academics and politicians for aWales criminal justice system.[8][9][10]
England and Wales are treated as a single unit for some purposes, because the two form the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England. The continuance ofScots law was guaranteed under the 1706Treaty of Union that led to theActs of Union 1707, and as a consequence English law—and after1801,Irish law—continued to be separate. Following the two Acts of Union, Parliament can restrict the effect of its laws to part of the realm, and generally the effect of laws, where restricted, was originally applied to one or more of the former kingdoms.[clarification needed] Thus, most laws applicable to England also applied to Wales. However, Parliament now passes laws applicable to Wales and not to England (and vice versa), a practice which was rare before the middle of the 20th century. Examples are theWelsh Language Acts1967 and1993 and theGovernment of Wales Act 1998. Measures andActs of the Senedd apply in Wales, but not in England.
Following the Government of Wales Act, effective since May 2007, theSenedd can legislate on matters devolved to it. Following areferendum on 3 March 2011, the Senedd gained direct law-making powers, without the need to consult Westminster. This was the first time in almost 500 years that Wales had its own powers to legislate. Each piece ofWelsh legislation is known as anAct of Senedd Cymru.
For acompany to beincorporated in the United Kingdom, its application for registration withCompanies House must state "whether the company's registered office is to be situated in England and Wales (or in Wales), in Scotland or in Northern Ireland",[11] which will determine the law applicable to that business entity. A registered office must be specified as "in Wales" if the company wishes to use a name endingcyfyngedig orcyf, rather thanLimited orLtd. or to avail itself of certain other privileges relating to the official use of the Welsh language.
Outside the legal system, the position is mixed. Some organisations combine as "England and Wales", others are separate.
Theorder of precedence in England and Wales is distinct from those of Northern Ireland andScotland, and fromCommonwealth realms.
Thenational parks ofEngland andWales have a distinctive legislative framework and history.
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