Contemporary Welsh Law is a term applied to the body of
primaryPrimary legislation is legislation made by the legislative branch of government. This contrasts with secondary legislation, made by the executive branch, usually within boundaries laid down by the legislature....
and secondary
legislationLegislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it. The term may refer to a single law, or the collective body of enacted law, while "statute" is also used to refer to a single law...
generated by the National Assembly of Wales, according to newly
devolved authorityDevolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a Sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level...
granted in the
United Kingdom parliamentThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
Government of Wales Act 2006The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...
. Each piece of Welsh legislation is known as an Assembly Measure. The first Assembly Measure to be officially proposed is the Proposed NHS Redress (Wales) Measure 2008. These powers have been effective since May, 2007.
Contemporary Welsh Law is a term applied to the body of
primaryPrimary legislation is legislation made by the legislative branch of government. This contrasts with secondary legislation, made by the executive branch, usually within boundaries laid down by the legislature....
and secondary
legislationLegislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it. The term may refer to a single law, or the collective body of enacted law, while "statute" is also used to refer to a single law...
generated by the National Assembly of Wales, according to newly
devolved authorityDevolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a Sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level...
granted in the
United Kingdom parliamentThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
Government of Wales Act 2006The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...
. Each piece of Welsh legislation is known as an Assembly Measure. The first Assembly Measure to be officially proposed is the Proposed NHS Redress (Wales) Measure 2008. These powers have been effective since May, 2007. It is the first time in over 700 years
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5211918.stm that Wales has had its own laws, the last being the
Cyfraith HywelWelsh law, the law of Wales, was traditionally first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales. In Welsh it is usually called Cyfraith Hywel, the Law of Hywel...
, which was a version of
Celtic LawA number of law codes have in the past been in use in Celtic countries. While these vary considerably in details, there are certain points of similarity....
.
Legislative Competence - National Assembly for Wales
Both the
Government of Wales Act 1998This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act, 1998 This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act, 1998...
and the
Government of Wales Act 2006The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...
set out areas of devolved responsibility for the
National Assembly for WalesThe National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
(commonly known as the Welsh Assembly). The acts show where legislative competence lies and what laws (known as Assembly Measures) the Welsh Assembly can make. In order to draft laws that are part of its area of responsibility, but where the powers of legislative competence have not been devolved to it, the Welsh Assembly can request these powers using a
Legislative Competency OrderIn Wales, a Legislative Competence Order is a piece of constitutional legislation in the form of an Order-in-Council. It transfers legislative authority from the Parliament of the United Kingdom to the National Assembly for Wales...
or they can receive the transfer of power and the right to make laws through Parliamentary bills.
Each Order in Council for an area of legislation must be approved by the
Secretary of State for WalesThe Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom cabinet. He is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
, both Houses of Parliament, and the
Queen in CouncilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation on how to exercise their executive authority, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government...
in order for the Assembly to legislate in that area. Once the Queen has approved the Order, the new area of legislative competence is added to Schedule 5, Part 1 of the Government of Wales Act 2006
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/60032--n.htm#sch5pt1. There is a
Counsel General for WalesThe Counsel General for Wales advises the Welsh Assembly Government on Welsh legislative matters and advises on legislative competency. The position of the Counsel General for Wales is described in the Government of Wales Act 2006 and controlled in Standing Order 5 .The Counsel General is a member...
who oversees the approval and creation of these laws, and gives advice to the
Welsh Assembly GovernmentThe Welsh Assembly Government was firstly an executive body of the National Assembly for Wales, consisting of the First Minister and his Cabinet from 1999 to 2007....
.
Following the devolution of legislative competence to the Welsh Assembly in some area of responsibility, it is unlikely that the UK Parliament would draw up legislation in that area without a motion being passed by the Welsh Assembly to allow them to do so (Standing order 26). This is done to prevent legislative confusion.
Areas to legislate: The devolved areas
These areas are fields where the National Assembly for Wales can request matters as they are known, to make legislation in the form of the Assembly Measure. Under each field, there would be a matter, which would later become the full title to the later Assembly Measure created.
- Agriculture
Agriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
, fisheries, forestryForestry is the art and science of managing forests, tree plantations, and related natural resources. The main goal of forestry is to create and implement systems that allow forests to continue a sustainable continuation of environmental supplies and services...
and rural developmentRural development in general is used to denote the actions and initiatives taken to improve the standard of living in non-Urban neighbourhoods, countryside, and remote villages. These communities can be exemplified with a low ratio of inhabitants to open space...
- Ancient monuments and historic buildings
- Culture
- Economic development
Economic development is the increase in the standard of living of a nation's population associated with sustained growth from a simple, low-income economy to a modern, high-income economy...
- Education and training
Education in Wales differs in certain respects from the systems used elsewhere in the United Kingdom.A significant number of students all over Wales are educated either wholly or largely through the medium of Welsh; lessons in the language are compulsory for all until the age of 16...
- Environment
The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, is a term that encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof....
- Fire and rescue services and promotion of fire safety
- Food
Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol...
- Heath and health services
NHS Wales is the publicly funded healthcare system of Wales. NHS Wales was originally formed as part of the public health system for England and Wales created by the National Health Service Act 1946 but powers over the NHS in Wales came under the Secretary of State for Wales in 1969...
- Highways and transport
- Housing
A house is generally a shelter, building or structure that is a dwelling or place for habitation by human beings. The term includes many kinds of dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to high-rise apartment buildings...
- Local government
Local governments are administrative office that are smaller than a state. The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government....
- Public administration
- National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
- Social welfare
- Sport and recreation
- Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
- Town and country planning
- Water and flood defence
- Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh border and in the Welsh immigrant colony in the Chubut Valley in Argentine Patagonia....
The Assembly can also legislate in areas that only affect the Assembly itself, that's why the National Assembly for Wales field is added.
In future: Referendum of future powers to make Acts of the Assembly
for the referendum article related to this.
At the moment the Welsh Assembly will only be able to make Assembly Measures, but the Assembly is given the option to call for a referendum, with added approval from the UK Parliament, to make Acts of the Assembly. This would not change much of the Assembly Measures system and if the referendum is won, the Assembly Measures passed before that date would still be in force. It's considered that Assembly Measures are a build on to the Acts of the Assembly ,if the Assembly has these powers in future.
If the provisions to make Acts of the Assembly succeed in a referendum, future Welsh order in council laws will face veto from the UK Parliament, but the Assembly will still be able to make laws in areas already devolved because once the referendum is approved, there will be powers which are already in the government of Wales Act 2006 to make laws already approved by parliament when the act was passed. The Assembly can still request to make laws in areas using the Order in Council system but if the UK Parliament wanted to legislate in a devolved area afterwards, they would require a motion to be passed by the Welsh Assembly, similar to the way the Scottish Parliament work at present. The power to make Acts of the Assembly will be called Subjects, which is schedule 7, part 1 of the
Government of Wales Act 2006The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...
.
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006/60032--r.htm#sch7pt1
English Law and Contemporary Welsh Law
English law, or UK laws still apply to Wales under the present
devolutionDevolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a Sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level...
settlement. Contemporary Welsh law will govern the local aspects of Welsh life whilst English law will govern the more generic aspects. Because these laws are derived from UK Acts of Parliament, some people consider this new system of laws to be another branch of
English lawEnglish law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the United States...
. Unlike
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, for example, which has its own criminal and civil justice system, Wales will still have a unified justice system with
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The 'One Wales' Labour/Plaid Cymru deal also has an area for devolution of a Criminal and Youth Justice System to this new legal system.
See Page 29
It is important to note, that English law still applies in Wales, but it will also be important to say that some laws in England, that are devolved in Wales, may not apply in Wales. It is also possible to say that once the Assembly has legislative competency in an area to legislate using Measures, the National Assembly could lead Wales down a different route compared to English law. It's possible to say that there could be some acts that would be illegal in Wales, but not illegal in England and Scotland.
Wales-only Laws
There are Acts of the United Kingdom parliament that are classed as "
Wales-only lawsWales-only Laws are Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament that only relate to Wales. Each law would then either grant the Assembly power to make delegated legislation or would transfer power to the National Assembly for Wales to make Assembly Measures in certain devolved areas.Wales-only Laws are...
". Each Act contains provisions for the Welsh Assembly to make subordinate legislation on. Sometimes such Acts can also confer power to the
National Assembly for WalesThe National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
. An example of such a Wales-only law is the
Transport (Wales) Act 2006. This Act allows the National Assembly to make Orders to enforce the provisions in the Act. The Act does not confer power to the Assembly to make Assembly Measures.
A major difference is also the use of the
Welsh languageWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh border and in the Welsh immigrant colony in the Chubut Valley in Argentine Patagonia....
, as laws concerning it apply in Wales and not in England. The
Welsh Language Act 1993The Welsh Language Act 1993 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which put the Welsh language on an equal footing with the English language in Wales with regard to the public sector....
is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which put the Welsh language on an equal footing with the English language in Wales with regard to the public sector. Welsh can also be spoken in Welsh courts.
Wales as a Jurisdiction
As there is no
Criminal lawThe term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply...
within contemporary Welsh law,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
cannot be considered a fourth
jurisdictionThe United Kingdom has three legal systems. English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law, which applies in Northern Ireland, are based on common-law principles. Scots law, which applies in Scotland, is a pluralistic system based on civil-law principles, with common law...
of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. This is because the judiciary and the courts follow
England and WalesEngland and Wales is a legal unit within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, England and Wales follow the legal system known as English law, and the two form the constitutional successor to the...
law, which is made by the United Kingdom Parliament, 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. If the
One WalesOne Wales is the coalition agreement for the National Assembly for Wales between the Welsh Labour Party and Plaid Cymru agreed to by Rhodri Morgan, Welsh First Minister and leader of Welsh Labour, and Ieuan Wyn Jones, leader of Plaid Cymru, on 27 June 2007...
agreement is successful, before 2011, this may change, as the agreement calls for a review of
criminal justiceCriminal justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, and sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts....
matters in Wales, and the question of whether it should be devolved to Wales; currently, however, there is no devolution of justice to the
AssemblyThe National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
.
See also
- Schedule 5 of the Government of Wales Act 2006
- Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom)
The Royal Commission on the Constitution, also referred to as the Kilbrandon Commission or Kilbrandon Report, was a long-running royal commission set up by Harold Wilson's Labour government to examine the structures of the constitution of the United Kingdom and the British Islands and the...
- National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
- Welsh Assembly Government
The Welsh Assembly Government was firstly an executive body of the National Assembly for Wales, consisting of the First Minister and his Cabinet from 1999 to 2007....
- English Law
English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the United States...
- Northern Ireland law
Northern Ireland law concerns the legal system of Northern Ireland.-Background:For the purposes of private international law the United Kingdom is divided into three distinct legal jurisdictions:*English law in England and Wales...
- Scots Law
Scots law is a unique legal system with an ancient basis in Roman law. Grounded in uncodified civil law dating back to the Corpus Juris Civilis, it also features elements of common law with medieval sources...