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Politik dan kerajaan
United KingdomUnited Kingdom mempunyai tiga
sistem undang-undang.
[1] Undang-undang Inggeris, yang digunakan di
England dan Wales, dan
undang-undang Ireland Utara, yang digunakan di
Ireland Utara, berasaskan prinsip-prinsip
common-law.
Undang-undang Scotland, yang digunakan di
Scotland, adalah sistem pluralistik berasaskan prinsip-prinsip
undang-undang sivil, dengan unsur-unsur common law yang berasal dari
tengah Zaman Pertengahan. Sementara England dan Wales, Ireland Utara, dan Scotland berlainan dalam peraturan terperinci common law dan ekuiti, dan sementara terdapat bidang tertentu kompetens perundangan diturunkan di Ireland Utara, Scotland, Wales dan London, terdapat bidang hakiki undang-undang yang digunakan di seluruh United Kingdom.United Kingdom tidak memiliki sistem undang-undang tunggal kerana ia diwujudkan oleh penyatuan politik negara-negara merdeka, dengan Artikel 19
Perjanjian Penyatuan, yang dikuatkuasakan oleh
Akta Penyatuan pada 1707, menjamin kewujudan berterusan sistem undang-undang terasing Scotland dalam
Great Britain.
[2] Akta Penyatuan antara Great Britain da
Ireland pada 1800 pula tidak mengandungi peruntukan serupa tetapi mengekalkan prinsip mahkamah berbeza di Ireland, kini Ireland Utara sahaja.The
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest court in the land for all criminal and civil cases in
England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and for all civil cases in Scots law.
[3] Recent constitutional changes saw a new
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom come into being in October 2009 to take on the appellate functions of the Appellate Committee of the
House of Lords.
[4][5] In
England and Wales, the
court system is headed by the
Supreme Court of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, 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 chief
courts are the
Court of Session, for civil cases, and the
High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases.
Sheriff courts have no equivalent outside Scotland as these Courts deal both with criminal and civil caseloads.The
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the highest court of appeal for several independent
Commonwealth countries, the
British overseas territories, and the British
Crown dependencies. There are also immigration courts with UK-wide jurisdiction — the
Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and
Special Immigration Appeals Commission. The
Employment tribunals and the
Employment Appeal Tribunal have jurisdiction throughout
Great Britain, but not Northern Ireland.