Counsel General urges submissions over separate legal jurisdiction for Wales
The Counsel General for the Welsh Government, Theodore Huckle QC, has called for submissions to its consultation on whether Wales should be a separate legal jurisdiction.
The consultation, which closes next Tuesday (19 June), seeks views on the specific aspects of a potential Welsh jurisdiction as well as the underlying issues beneath the broader questions of:
- what is meant by the term “separate legal jurisdiction”;
- whether there are any essential features for the existence of a separate legal jurisdiction and, if so, what they might be;
- what the consequences of having a separate Welsh legal jurisdiction might be; and
- what the potential advantages and disadvantages of a separate Welsh legal jurisdiction would be.
Huckle said: "Currently, all law passed for Wales, whether by the Assembly, Welsh Ministers, the Westminster Parliament or UK Government Ministers, becomes part of the law of England and Wales. This is because England and Wales share a single legal jurisdiction; and a single system of courts, judges and legal professions has grown up as a distinctive feature of that jurisdiction.
"We are clear that separate jurisdictions can exist within a United Kingdom – Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own jurisdictions separate from that of England and Wales.”
Huckle insisted that the time was now right to consider whether or not there should be a separate legal jurisdiction for Wales.
“I would urge all those with an interest in this matter to take this opportunity to express their views on this important constitutional issue and to respond to the consultation,” he said.
More details on the consultation can be found here.
