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64-728: The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales , then the Countryside Commission for England ) was a statutory body in England and Wales , and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commission, was established in 1949 by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 to co-ordinate government activity in relation to National Parks . This body became

128-451: A Wales criminal justice system . England and Wales are treated as a single unit for some purposes, because the two form the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England. The continuance of Scots law was guaranteed under the 1706 Treaty of Union that led to the Acts of Union 1707 , and as a consequence English law—and after 1801 , Irish law —continued to be separate. Following

192-430: A penance , might also be imposed. In land disputes, a court could order the restoration of property to a successful litigant. Sometimes resolutions took the form of compromise. For example, a party who lost their claim to land might be given a life-tenure in the property. The most serious crimes (murder, treachery to one's lord, arson, house-breaking, and open theft) were punishable by death and forfeiture. Hanging by

256-487: A false oath was a grave offense against God and could endanger one's immortal soul. In Anglo-Saxon law, "denial is always stronger than accusation". The defendant was acquitted if he produced the necessary number of oaths. If a defendant's community believed him to be guilty or generally untrustworthy, he would be unable to gather oath-helpers and would lose his case. This system was vulnerable to abuse. A defendant might be unable to gather oath-helpers because his opponent

320-591: A law code that has not survived. Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, produced a law code c.  890 known as the Doom Book . The prologue of Alfred's code states that the Bible and penitentials were studied as part of creating his code. In addition, older law codes were studied, including the laws of Æthelberht, Ine, and Offa. This may have been the first attempt to create a limited set of uniform laws across England, and it set

384-403: A lord over his lands or over entire hundreds. It was common for royal writs granting such rights to include the phrases " sake and soke " and "sake and soke, toll and team , and infangentheof ." Sometimes further rights were granted, such as jurisdiction over mundbryce (breach of the king's protection), hamsocn (assault on a person inside a house), and forsteal (assault on

448-417: A matter of fact, suggested by the interested parties themselves, and chiefly by the church. Thus a privileged land-tenure was created— bookland ; the rules as to the succession of kinsmen were set at nought by concession of testamentary power and confirmations of grants and wills; special exemptions from the jurisdiction of the hundreds and special privileges as to levying fines were conferred. In process of time

512-547: A precedent for future English kings. The House of Wessex became rulers of all England in the 10th century, and their laws were applied throughout the kingdom. Significant 10th-century law codes were promulgated by Edward the Elder , Æthelstan , Edmund I , Edgar , and Æthelred the Unready . But regional variations in laws and customs survived as well. The Domesday Book of 1086 noted that distinct laws existed for Wessex, Mercia, and

576-416: A precise division of courts. The hundred court was to meet every four weeks. The borough court was to meet three times a year, and the shire court was to meet twice a year. In addition to being a legislator, the king was also a judge. The king heard cases in the presence of his witan or council. Kings could also hear and act on complaints alone, outside of a formal judicial context. The cases heard by

640-425: A royal road). The king could revoke all of these grants. Synods dealt with legal disputes. Initially, synods may have had jurisdiction over cases involving bookland since this form of land tenure originated within the church. The king could also grant the church (either the bishop of a diocese or the abbot of a religious house ) the right to administer a hundred. The hundred's reeve would then answer to

704-424: A smaller group of people to decide a case. Witnesses were an important form of evidence, especially in cases involving property. The parties might bring their own witnesses, but the official presiding over the court might also search for witnesses. Charters and other documents could help decide land disputes. Physical evidence could also be utilized. The Fonthill Letter recounts that a cattle thief named Helmstan

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768-710: A sophisticated system of assemblies or moots (the Old English words mot and gemot mean "meeting"). Historians often call these assemblies courts ; however, they were not like the specialised law courts that developed under Angevin government . These assemblies performed a variety of functions beyond judicial business. They issued legislation, organised and performed law enforcement, and witnessed transactions. Vague references to courts appear in earlier laws. These texts use terms such as folcegemot ( ' public court or meeting ' ). Later laws use more specific terminology. The laws of Edgar ( r.  959–975 ) outline

832-472: Is distinct from those of Northern Ireland and Scotland , and from Commonwealth realms . The national parks of England and Wales have a distinctive legislative framework and history. Anglo-Saxon law Originally, each Anglo-Saxon kingdom had its own laws. As a result of Viking invasions and settlement, the Danelaw followed Scandinavian laws . In the 10th century, a unified Kingdom of England

896-830: The Roman conquest of Britain in the first century, Roman law was operative at least concerning Roman citizens . But the Roman legal system disappeared after the Romans left the island in the 5th century. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the Anglo-Saxons migrated from Germany and established several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms . These had their own legal traditions based in Germanic law that "owed little if anything" to Celtic or Roman influences. Anglo-Saxon law largely derived from unwritten customs termed folk-right ( Old English : folcriht , ' right or justice of

960-642: The United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . England and Wales England and Wales ( Welsh : Cymru a Lloegr ) is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom . It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 . The substantive law of the jurisdiction is English law . The devolved Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh : Senedd Cymru ) – previously named

1024-577: The coronation oath ." The Leges Edwardi Confessoris is the best known of the custumals , compilations of Anglo-Saxon customs written after the Conquest to explain Anglo-Saxon laws to the new Norman rulers. The English dialect in which the Anglo-Saxon laws have been handed down is in most cases a common speech derived from the West Saxon dialect . Wessex formed the core of the unified Kingdom of England, and

1088-446: The gallows and beheading were common forms of execution. A woman convicted of murder by witchcraft was punished by drowning . According to the laws of Æthelstan , thieves over 15 years of age who stole more than 12 pence were to be executed (men by stoning , women by burning , and free women could be pushed off a cliff or drowned ). In Cnut's code, a first criminal offence usually merited compensation to victims and fines to

1152-644: The red dragon of Wales was dropped and replaced with the unicorn of Scotland with the succession of King James I who demoted Wales' status on the coat of arms and on the first adaptation of the Flag of Great Britain . Prior to 1746, it was not clear whether a reference to "England" in legislation included Wales, and so in 1746, Parliament passed the Wales and Berwick Act 1746 . This specified that in all prior and future laws, references to "England" would by default include Wales (and Berwick-upon-Tweed ). The Wales and Berwick Act

1216-441: The witan , the king's council comprising the lay and ecclesiastical nobility . Some law codes portrayed the witan as initiating new legislation and the king assenting to it. For example, one code begins, "these are the ordinances which the wise men established at Exeter, by the counsel of King Æthelstan". Royal law codes were written to address specific situations and were intended to be read by people who were already familiar with

1280-760: The 20th century. Examples are the Welsh Language Acts 1967 and 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 . Measures and Acts of the Senedd apply in Wales, but not in England. Following the Government of Wales Act, effective since May 2007, the Senedd can legislate on matters devolved to it. Following a referendum on 3 March 2011 , the Senedd gained direct law-making powers, without

1344-542: The 8th century, the Venerable Bede comments that Æthelberht created his law code "after the examples of the Romans" ( Latin : iuxta exempla Romanorum ). This likely refers to Romanised peoples such as the Franks , whose Salic law was codified under Clovis I . As a newly Christian king, Æthelberht's creation of his own law code symbolised his belonging to the Roman and Christian traditions. The actual legislation, however,

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1408-660: The Countryside Commission for England and Wales in 1968, when its duties were expanded to cover the countryside as a whole in England and Wales (a separate Countryside Commission for Scotland covered Scotland ). In 1991 the Welsh part of the organisation was split off and amalgamated with the equivalent part of the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) to become the Countryside Council for Wales . The rest of

1472-749: The Danelaw. The law codes of Cnut ( r.  1016–1035 ) were the last to be promulgated in the Anglo-Saxon period and are primarily a collection of earlier laws. They became the main source for old English law after the Norman Conquest. For political reasons, these laws were attributed to Edward the Confessor ( r.  1042–1066 ), and "under the guise of the Leges Edwardi Confessoris they achieved an almost mystical authority which inspired Magna Carta in 1215 and were for centuries embedded in

1536-677: The Great in his Legal Code , c.  893 . However, after the Norman invasion of Wales in the 11th century, English law came to apply in the parts of Wales conquered by the Normans (the Welsh Marches ). In 1283, the English, led by Edward I , with the biggest army brought together in England since the 11th century, conquered the remainder of Wales , then organised as the Principality of Wales . This

1600-583: The National Assembly for Wales – was created in 1999 under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales. The powers of the legislature were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006 , which allows it to pass its own laws , and the Act also formally separated the Welsh Government from the Senedd. There is no equivalent body for England , which is directly governed by

1664-416: The accused attended court and did not attempt to flee justice. This could take the form of a financial pledge, but it also included people standing as pledges. If the accused could find no people to stand surety and had no property to pledge, then he would be imprisoned. The man's kinsmen or lord had a particular responsibility to act as surety for him. If a man fled justice, his surety had to pay his wergeld to

1728-598: The bishop or abbot. The same cases would be tried as before, but the profits of justice would now go to the church. One such hundred was the Soke of Peterborough . While common legal procedures existed, they can be difficult to reconstruct due to lack of evidence and variation in local custom. Shires possessed their own local traditions, and the Danelaw deviated in important ways from other parts of England. Legal proceedings began with an accusation by an aggrieved party. In addition, tithing groups could present accusations as part of

1792-516: The claimant. The outcome sought could vary based on the type of case. Claimants might seek restoration of property, compensation, or the offender's punishment. The initiating party formally stated his charge with a fore-oath. An example formula in the anonymous text Swerian states, "by the Lord, I accuse N. neither for hatred nor for calumny nor for unjust gain; nor do I know anything more true, except as my informant told me and I myself truly relate that he

1856-567: The conquest, the Romans administered this region as a single unit, the province of Britain . Long after the departure of the Romans, the Britons in what became Wales developed their own system of law , first codified by Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good; reigned 942–950) when he was king of most of present-day Wales (compare King of Wales ); in England Anglo-Saxon law was initially codified by Alfred

1920-403: The court and made its decisions. Decisions of a hundred court could be appealed to the shire or to the king. Before taking distraint of property, Cnut's law required a man to seek justice three times in the hundred court and, failing that, to appeal to the shire court. Other laws required plaintiffs to seek justice in hundred courts before appealing to the king. Boroughs were separate from

1984-423: The facts of the case, which could be supported by witnesses or written evidence (such as the well-known Fonthill Letter ). Arguments could also cite folk-right or legal norms. Following the arguments, the court might issue a mesne or intermediate judgment. A mesne judgment might declare the form of proof to be used in the trial and which party should provide that proof. Alternatively, a mesne judgment could appoint

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2048-404: The hundred. The hundred handled criminal cases, civil cases, land disputes, and tort . It heard accusations of theft not involving the death penalty and may have executed thieves caught in the act; however, most serious offenses were reserved to the shire court's jurisdiction. The hundred handled most ecclesiastical cases (such as tithe and marriage cases), and the bishop or his representative

2112-442: The hundreds and had their own courts (variously termed burghmoot, portmanmoot, or husting ). These met three times a year. Like hundreds, boroughs were required to appoint official witnesses for all transactions, 36 witnesses for large boroughs and 12 witnesses for small ones. While initially a regular court, the borough court developed into a special court for the law merchant . The king could grant judicial rights and powers to

2176-459: The judicial system through their local hundred or wapentake . The hundred court met monthly and was presided over by a royal reeve . The laws of Edward the Elder and Æthelstan required reeves to ensure everyone received the benefits of folk-right and royal law. The hundred had a role in witnessing transactions. Edgar's law required all sales and purchases (such as land, cattle, and the manumission of slaves) to be witnessed by 12 men chosen by

2240-418: The king included: The law reserved some cases to the king's jurisdiction. In the laws of Cnut, they include: These reserved cases could only be tried in the presence of the king or a royal official, and the fines were paid into the royal treasury. The requirement that a royal official preside usually meant that these cases, if not heard directly by the king, were heard in the shire court. The shire court

2304-453: The king or to the entitled party. The accused had to formally deny the accusation in person; however, women and the mute or deaf needed a representative. The denial took the form of an oath, such as "by the Lord, I am guiltless, both in deed and counsel, of the accusation of which N. accuses me". After the initial accusation and denial, the parties themselves (or their supporters) were able to argue their case. Each side told their version of

2368-430: The kings of Wessex united the other Anglo-Saxon peoples against their common Danish enemy. In the process, they created a single Kingdom of England . This unification process was completed under Æthelstan ( r.  924–939 ). There is a good deal of resemblance between the capitularies legislation of Charlemagne and his successors on one hand and the acts of Alfred, Edward the Elder , Æthelstan and Edgar on

2432-511: The law applicable to that business entity. A registered office must be specified as "in Wales" if the company wishes to use a name ending cyfyngedig or cyf , rather than Limited or Ltd. or to avail itself of certain other privileges relating to the official use of the Welsh language. Outside the legal system, the position is mixed. Some organisations combine as "England and Wales", others are separate. The order of precedence in England and Wales

2496-466: The law. The first law code was the Law of Æthelberht ( c.  602 ), which put into writing the unwritten legal customs of Kent. This was followed by two later Kentish law codes, the Law of Hlothhere and Eadric ( c.  673  – c.  685 ) and the Law of Wihtred (695). Outside of Kent, Ine of Wessex issued a law code between 688 and 694. Offa of Mercia ( r.  757–796 ) produced

2560-527: The legal system of the Kingdom of England. This was in part to update outdated Welsh laws, but also to control Wales alongside England; through these acts, the Welsh could be seen as equals to the English. This was reflected on both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I 's coat of arms where the dragon represented Wales and the lion represented England. As soon as the Tudor dynasty ended with the death of Elizabeth I , however,

2624-483: The local thegns (nobles) who attended the court as suitors (those who declared the law and made judgments). Litigants and their supporters (such as oath-helpers ) would also be present. The shire court likely addressed the most serious crimes, such as death penalty cases. The shire was also the most likely setting for cases reserved to the king (see above ) . The shire court witnessed land purchases, and it also adjudicated land disputes. Most people experienced

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2688-690: The need to consult Westminster. This was the first time in almost 500 years that Wales had its own powers to legislate. Each piece of Welsh legislation is known as an Act of Senedd Cymru . For a company to be incorporated in the United Kingdom, its application for registration with Companies House must state "whether the company's registered office is to be situated in England and Wales (or in Wales), in Scotland or in Northern Ireland", which will determine

2752-634: The organisation became the Countryside Commission for England – for the moment it remained separate from English Nature , as the English part of the NCC became. The Countryside Commission ceased to exist in 1999 when it was merged with the Rural Development Commission to form the Countryside Agency . This has in turn evolved into Natural England , partly by eventual merger with English Nature. This article about an organisation in

2816-464: The other, a resemblance called forth less by direct borrowing of Frankish institutions than by the similarity of political problems and condition. The Norman Conquest of 1066 ended the Anglo-Saxon monarchy. But Anglo-Saxon law and institutions survived and formed the foundation for the common law . While custom was respected, kings could adapt the laws of their predecessors and also create new laws. Royal law codes were produced in consultation with

2880-620: The parliament and government of the United Kingdom . During the Roman occupation of Britain , the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, except for the land to the north of Hadrian's Wall – though the Roman-occupied area varied in extent, and for a time extended to the Antonine/Severan Wall . At that time, most of the native inhabitants of Roman Britain spoke Brythonic languages , and were all regarded as Britons , divided into numerous tribes. After

2944-431: The people ' ). The older law of real property, of succession, of contracts, the customary tariffs of fines, were mainly regulated by folk-right. Customary law differed between local cultures. There were different folk-rights of West and East Saxons , of East Angles , of Kentish men, Mercians , Northumbrians , Danes , Welshmen , and these main folk-right divisions remained even when tribal kingdoms disappeared and

3008-545: The people were concentrated in one kingdom. Following the Christianisation of the Anglo-Saxons , written law codes or "dooms" were produced. The Christian clergy brought with them the art of letters, writing, and literacy. The oldest Anglo-Saxon law codes, especially from Kent and Wessex, reveal a close affinity to Germanic law. The first written Anglo-Saxon laws were issued around 600 by Æthelberht of Kent . Writing in

3072-413: The plaintiff. The final judgment was made collectively by the suitors of the court, especially the thegns. In the Danelaw, judgment might be made by a group of "doomsmen" or judges. There is also evidence that those presiding over the court sometimes issued their own judgments. A court could order the guilty party to pay a fine, compensate a victim, or forfeit property. A religious penalty, such as

3136-464: The rights originating in royal grants of privilege overbalanced, as it were, folk-right in many respects, and became themselves the starting-point of a new legal system—the feudal one. In the 9th century, the Danelaw was conquered by Danes and governed under Scandinavian law . The word law itself derives from the Old Norse word laga . Starting with Alfred the Great ( r.  871–899 ),

3200-559: The royal court at Winchester became the main literary centre. Traces of the Kentish dialect can be detected in the Textus Roffensis , a manuscript containing the earliest Kentish laws. Northumbrian dialectical peculiarities are also noticeable in some codes, while Danish words occur as technical terms in some documents. With the Norman Conquest, Latin took the place of English as the language of legislation. The Anglo-Saxons developed

3264-423: The suspect. The Hundred Ordinance attributed to Edgar commands, "if the need is pressing, the man in charge of the hundred is to be told, and he then is to tell the men in charge of the tithings; and all are to go forth, where God guides them, that they may reach [the thief]. Justice is to be done on the thief as Edmund decreed previously." Suspects who escaped were declared outlaws , and it was said that they "wore

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3328-427: The system of friborh (see above ) . In cases involving royal rights, accusations could be brought by royal officials. There were two types of cases that could be brought to court. In the first kind, a party claimed they or, in the case of homicide, a relative had been wronged. In the second kind, a claimant asserted that another party was in possession of movable or immovable property rightfully belonging to

3392-407: The two Acts of Union, Parliament can restrict the effect of its laws to part of the realm, and generally the effect of laws, where restricted, was originally applied to one or more of the former kingdoms. Thus, most laws applicable to England also applied to Wales. However, Parliament now passes laws applicable to Wales and not to England (and vice versa), a practice which was rare before the middle of

3456-404: The wolf's head", meaning they could be hunted and killed like wolves. The identities of suitors to the hundred court are unclear. Cnut's law required all freemen 12 years and older to belong to a hundred and tithing. However, this law referred to peacekeeping, and it is unknown if all free men would have attended the hundred court. It is possible that local thegns (or their bailiffs ) controlled

3520-412: Was a royal court presided over by the ealdorman and local bishop as royal representatives. The sheriff might also be there, either alongside the ealdorman or in his stead. It met twice a year around Easter and Michaelmas . A law of Cnut allowed it to meet more often if necessary. While the ealdorman and bishop presided over the court, they were not judges in the modern sense. Decisions were made by

3584-469: Was an appeal to God to reveal perjury , and its divine nature meant it was regulated by the church. The ordeal had to be overseen by a priest at a place designated by the bishop. The most common forms in England were ordeal by hot iron and ordeal by water . Before a defendant was put through the ordeal, the plaintiff had to establish a prima facie case under oath. The plaintiff was assisted by his own supporters or "suit", who might act as witnesses for

3648-483: Was created with a single Anglo-Saxon government ; however, different regions continued to follow their customary legal systems. The last Anglo-Saxon law codes were enacted in the early 11th century during the reign of Cnut the Great . The native inhabitants of England were Celtic Britons . The unwritten Celtic law was learned and preserved by the Druids , who in addition to their religious role also acted as judges. After

3712-407: Was expected to attend. Each hundred was responsible for policing itself through a system called friborh ( ' peace-pledge ' ). Free men were organised into groups of 10 or 12 called tithings . They pledged to be law abiding and to report crimes on pain of amercement . When a crime was committed, the victim or witnesses could raise the " hue and cry ", requiring all able-bodied men to pursue

3776-586: Was more powerful or influential within the community. The number of oaths needed depended on the seriousness of the accusation and the person's social status. If the law required oaths valued at 1200 shillings , then a thegn would not need any oath-helpers because his wergeld equaled 1200 shillings. However, a ceorl (200 shilling wergeld) would need oath-helpers. When a defendant failed to establish his innocence by oath in criminal cases (such as murder, arson, forgery, theft and witchcraft ), he might still redeem himself through trial by ordeal. Trial by ordeal

3840-470: Was not influenced by Roman law. Rather, it converted older customs into written legislation, and, reflecting the role of the bishops in drafting it, protected the English church . The first seven clauses deal solely with compensation for the church. Folk-right could be broken or modified by special law or special grant, and the fountain of such privileges was the royal power. Alterations and exceptions were, as

3904-477: Was repealed by the Welsh Language Act 1967 , although the statutory definition of "England" created by that Act still applies for laws passed before 1967. In new legislation since then, what was referred to as "England" is now "England and Wales", while subsequent references to "England" and "Wales" refer to those political divisions. There have been multiple calls from both Welsh academics and politicians for

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3968-491: Was scratched in the face by a bramble while fleeing the scene of the crime. In court, the scratch was used as evidence against him. In compurgation or trial by oath, a defendant swore oaths to prove his innocence without cross-examination . A defendant was expected to bring oath-helpers ( Latin : juratores ), neighbors willing to swear to his good character or "oathworthiness". In the Christian society of Anglo-Saxon England,

4032-418: Was the thief of my cattle". If strong evidence existed, the accuser would not need to make a fore-oath. However, false accusations were severely punished; the offender would lose his tongue unless he redeemed himself by paying his wergeld . The defendant had to appear in court at the scheduled time or provide an essoin (excuse) for not attending. Surety ( Old English : borh ) could be required to ensure

4096-517: Was then united with the English crown by the Statute of Rhuddlan of 1284. This aimed to replace Welsh criminal law with English law. Welsh law continued to be used for civil cases until the annexation of Wales to England in the 16th century by the Welsh House of Tudor . The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 then consolidated the administration of all the Welsh territories and incorporated them fully into

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