Introduction and Background:

Devolution, or "transfer and subsequent sharing of powers between institutions of government within a limited framework set out in legislation", has taken place in the United Kingdom as a result of 1998 legislation. Since the Labor Government came into power in 1997, the changes resulted in new constitutions for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The U.K. Parliament transferred limited powers to a new Scottish Parliament, a National Assembly of Wales and a Northern Ireland Assembly. The official "Acts" of 1998 for these three countries set out differing levels of devolved powers. Scotland and Ireland now have new executive and legislative branches, while Wales does not have a primary legislative authority. The problems in Ireland have made the process a much more complex one. The British government has negotiated several times with the various parties representing unionists and nationalists.Both Scotland and Northern Ireland now have limited powers to pass primary legislation. Other legislation is known as "delegated" which is determined by the rules set up by the U.K. Parliament. It is important to note that these changes make information about these legal systems before 1998 out of date. A thorough discussion can be found in the article at LLRX, by Stephen Young, entitled Devolution in the United Kingdom: A Revolution in Online Legal Research.

The UK also joined the European Union in 1973, therefore European legislation has been incorporated into U.K. law. Recognition of the European Court of Justice must be included in any description of U.K.'s legal systems. The U.K. is a signatory of the European Convention of Human Rights, the basis for the European Court of Human Rights, and these provisions must also be considered in the U.K. courts.

There is no written English constitution, and there is no official codification of the statutes. Law consists of statute law and case law, the former being interpreted by judicial precedent in the courts. However, all statutes passed by Parliament are considered valid, and only Parliament can change a law. Therefore, courts cannot question a statute.

Halsbury's Laws of England, 4^th ed., Butterworth's is the major encyclopedia on English law. (KD 310.H32) It is a starting point for research on English law and the best up-to-date source for all subject areas of English law.

Using a Law Library, 2^nd ed., by Peter Clinch, is a good overview of all U.K. materials. It is current and comprehensive in giving guidance in doing U.K. legal research.

Stroud's Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases, 6^th ed., is a valuable source for definitions specific to English legal research.

The House of Lords is the final court of appeal for civil and criminal cases from England and Wales. Eleven Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, (called Law Lords) judge the cases, generally five judges hear each appeal. The judicial work is described on the House of Lords web site. The next level down, the Court of Appeal, (in both civil and criminal cases) has only appellate jurisdiction. The next level down, the Crown Court (criminal) and the High Court of Justice (civil) have both original and appellate jurisdiction. These two courts hear cases considered too serious to be heard by either the Magistrate's Courts (criminal) or the County Courts (civil). A completely new set of civil procedure rules were implemented in 1999. Also, new legislation has been passed to modernize the courts and legal services. Information is complete and up-to-date on the Courts Service web site on all of the courts of appeal, as well as the specialty courts and tribunals.

Web sites for access to legislation since the devolution:

United Kingdom legislation as a whole The United Kingdom and all legislation; includes Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Scottish legislation Complete information about the new Parliament in Scotland.

Wales legislation Welsh legislation and Assembly business as well as complete coverage about Welsh news, publications, and public information. Has a subject index and organization index.

Northern Ireland legislation Official reports, today's business and legislation of the Assembly.

BAILII Comprehensive site that includes all United Kingdom law as well as other World law resources. Gives the latest cases for the U.K.

LEXIS -(Legal, Legal (excluding U.S.) Includes treaties and international agreements, cases, legislation and regulations, journals and treatises, practice materials and updates.

WESTLAW - Comprehensive directory of U.K. materials.

The Public General Acts or Acts of Parliament are published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (H.M.S.O.) (KD135 .L3) and have been put on the Acts of the U.K. Parliament web site. Coverage goes back to 1988. The BAILII web site also has them. (Note: this web site is constantly expanding coverage in all areas of U.K. law.)

Halsbury's Statutes of England (KD 135 .H3 1968) is the main printed source. It gives subject access and gives amended text of the Acts in force with annotations. An annual Cumulative Supplement and loose leaf Noter Up complete the set. There is no web source.

Statutory Instruments, with a web site and in print, (KD 173 .H3) are regulations which are made through Acts of Parliament. There are 3500 published annually, providing the details for application of the statute and when it will come into force.

LEXIS contains the Statutes and statutory instruments.

WESTLAW UK has most Statutes and statutory instruments, with commentary.

Nominate reports or those done by private court reporters were published until 1865. These are reprinted in English Reports Full Reprint (KD270 1220 .E58). For cases published between 1378 and 1865, this is considered the main source. The English Reports: Index of Cases (KD270 1220 .E58 Index) is like a digest to the cases.

The Law Reports, 1865-, (KD 275 1866) is the most authoritative set and is contained in four separate series for present day cases.

The All England Law Reports, 1936 - is another series. Loyola carries the A.E.L.R. Annual Review (KD 288)

Weekly Law Reports, 1954- (KD 282) are held by Loyola Law Library, up to 1993.

There are many specialized reports covering different areas of law.

The Digest (KD 296 .E52) is published by Butterworth's, contains summaries of cases, references to cited cases and legislation. Also an index to tell where a case is reported.

The Index to legal citations and abbreviations, by Donald Raistrick (KD 400 .R35 1993)

is a comprehensive guide to citations.

BAILII has a growing number of case law databases.

House of Lords judgements are on the web from 1996. Current and up-to-date.

The Court Service has selected recent cases from the Court of Appeal and the High Court.

The Times reports cases from 1996, but you must know the date.

WESTLAW has the Law Reports from 1947.

LEXIS has a single file of law reports from 1945 and unreported cases from 1980.

Many other services which are subscription-based provide access to specialized reports series.

Parliament - information on the two Houses of Parliament, the government and official publications. Hansard is the publication for the debates, which can be found on the web site from 1996.

Bills-published on the web with amendments. Progress of legislation can be checked on the Parliament web site.

U.K. online is the government's web site. Contains index to all government departments.

H.M.S.O. - Her Majesty's Stationery Office does all government publishing. It was privatized in 1996.

The Law Commission - an independent body set up in 1965 to review law of England and Wales. Recommends reform where needed.

The Scotland Act of 1998 set up the referendum for the Scottish Parliament. It can enact its own legislation in areas of domestic policy, employment and social security. The Scottish Executive is the official government web site.

The court system is different from England and Wales and uses different terminology, based, in part, from its historically important ties with the Roman or Civil law system.

The Court of Session is the supreme civil court. It is subject to appeal to the House of Lords. Most civil jurisdiction is handled in sheriff courts. High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court, the lower courts are sheriff and district courts. The Scottish Courts web site has information and links to decisions.

The Laws of Scotland: Stair Memorial Encyclopedia, (KDC 150 .L382 1987) is the work outlining Scottish law.

The Scottish Legislation web site has the first act passed in 1999 after the devolution. Includes links to Scottish Statutory Instruments as well.

BAILII - web site for Scottish cases with links to legislation and cited cases.

The Government of Wales Act of 1998 set up limited powers for its National Assembly for Wales. It is restricted to passing subordinate legislation only and is under the rule of the U.K. Parliament.

Wales Legislation web site has Welsh Statutory Instruments and on BAILII

There is no separate Welsh case law.

Created in 1922, it was the result of centuries of conflict with Great Britain and demands for home rule. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 set up two separate parliaments which were subordinate to British rule. The South, the 26 counties of southern Ireland, left to form their own state, now known as the Republic of Ireland. The problems between the Unionists (Protestants of the North) and the Nationalists (Catholics of the south) escalated in the late 1960's. Home rule was suspended and direct rule from the British government was instituted. The 1980's and 1990's saw continued negotiations. The Northern Ireland Act of 1998 was finally achieved, which formed the Northern Ireland Assembly. Texts of all of the acts can be found on BAILII.

Northern Ireland Legislation web site and BAILII provide the acts of the U.K. which automatically apply to Northern Ireland. Some acts apply specifically to Northern Ireland.

Court structure is similar to England and Wales, which is described on The Northern Ireland Court Service web site. BAILII has decisions from 1998.

LAWLINKS - Sarah Carter, law librarian, University of Kent at Canterbury has an extensive site for U.K. law and links to other major sites.

Legal Resources in the U.K. and Ireland by Diana Venables - provides current awareness services.

Jurist UK - subject gateway; legal education network

SOSIG LAW GATEWAY - IALS site for global legal information sources.

United Kingdom -- see --Great Britain

United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Ireland -- see --Great Britain

United Kingdom Of Great Britain And Northern Ireland -- see --Great Britain

Great Britain -- 2 Related Subjects

- see also England and Wales.

-- see also Scotland