Law of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has three distinctly different legal systems, each of which derives from a particular geographical area for a variety of historical reasons: English law, Scots law, Northern Ireland law, and, since 2007, calls for a fourth type, that of purely Welsh law as a result of Welsh devolution, with further calls for a Welsh justice system.
The Royal Courts of Justice in London, home of the Senior Courts of England and Wales
The main entrance to Cardiff Crown Court
The Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Parliament House in Edinburgh is the seat of the Supreme Courts of Scotland.
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures.
The Royal Courts of Justice is on the Strand in London. Together with its adjacent Thomas More Building and its outpost Rolls Building on Fetter Lane, it is the main seat of the High Court of Justice and the ordinary seat of the Court of Appeal.
Statue of Lady Justice on the dome of the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales in the City of London (the "Old Bailey")
Sir William Blackstone in 1774, after his appointment as a Justice of the Court of King's Bench
