How do the legal jurisdictions of the UK fit together?
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The UK consists of four countries forming three distinct jurisdictions: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Each jurisdiction has its own court system, legal profession and system for the regulation of the legal profession. However, whilst some fields of law are devolved to the local legislatures of the constituent countries, and whilst the case law coming from England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland diverge in part in their details, a large proportion of laws apply commonly throughout the UK.
The UK has a unitary system of government, meaning a system in which power is held in the centre, although some powers have been devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 1997 the Labour government began a process of devolution, whereby certain areas of government were devolved from central government, generally referred to as ‘Westminster’, to the governments of the distinct countries. A separate Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly were established, Ireland already having its own Assembly.
Whilst some laws apply to the whole of the UK, others apply only in certain jurisdictions. The UK government remains responsible for national policy on all matters that have not been devolved, such as foreign affairs, defence, macro-economic management, international trade and social security. The UK Parliament retains the power to legislate for any part of the UK, but in practice it only deals with devolved matters with the agreement of the relevant government.
The court systems differ slightly also. The Supreme Court, established in October 2009, is the highest court for the whole of the United Kingdom in civil cases, and for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in criminal cases. It also hears cases on matters devolved to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. For England and Wales, underneath the Supreme Court is the Court of Appeal, followed by the High Court of Justice, for civil cases, and the Crown Court, for criminal cases. The Courts of Northern Ireland follow the same pattern. In Scotland the Court of Session is the primary court for civil cases, and the High Court of Justiciary is the primary court for criminal cases. Scotland also has Sheriff Courts which deal with both criminal and civil cases; there is no equivalent court outside Scotland.
Any consideration of the UK legal system would be incomplete without a consideration of the place of the European Union in it. In 1973 the UK joined the European Economic Community, now the European Union. European legislation is now incorporated into UK law and the European Court of Justice has jurisdiction over matters of EU law, despite domestic legislation and the decisions of domestic courts.
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