The English Law (Application) Act 1962, originally known as the Application of English Law Ordinance, is an Act of the Gibraltar Legislative Council concerning the applicability of English law in Gibraltar.[1]
| English Law (Application) Act | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Gibraltar Legislative Council | |
| |
| Citation | Act. No. 1962-17 |
| Territorial extent | Whole of Gibraltar |
| Enacted by | Gibraltar Legislative Council |
| Enacted | 31 May 1962 |
| Assented to by | 31 May 1962 |
| Commenced | 1 June 1962 |
| Status: In force | |
Law
editThe Ordinance affirmed that Gibraltar would follow English Common Law and defined in schedules which specific statutes of English law would apply in Gibraltar.[2][3] The list of statutes would be updated infrequently.[4] It was also done to confirm in statute, rather than implied common automatic supersession, that Gibraltar would continue with English law.[5]
Though the Ordinance did not clarify whether Gibraltar would follow English case law precedents, it was later interpreted by Gibraltarian legal practitioners as meaning that they were not binding but were useful starting points for the consideration of judgments, due to the low amount of case law that originated in Gibraltar.[6]
The Ordinance was later used as a model in other British colonies for similar ordinances. In British Hong Kong, it was used as the basis for the Application of English Law Ordinance 1966. It is believed that the Hong Kong ordinance was drafted based upon Gibraltar's due to the Attorney General of Hong Kong Denys Roberts supplying a copy of Gibraltar's ordinance which he had from when he was the Attorney General of Gibraltar in 1962.[7] In 2012, the National Assembly for Wales investigated the possibility of creating a system of Welsh law separate from English law, and a barrister responding to the proposal referred to the English Law (Application) Act 1962 and found it ambiguous.[6]
Repeals
editWhile the Act confirmed many English offences, others were not confirmed, and the Act also made provision for the Gibraltar Parliament to amend or disapply any relevant legislation. As a result, some common law criminal offences have been abolished in Gibraltar, such as being a common scold, cheating the public revenue, champerty, and larceny. And at civil law, adultery and seduction were no longer to be causes of action.[8]
References
edit- ^ "The reception of English law". Alberta Law Review. p. 56. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Brexit and Gibraltar" (PDF). Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ Marshall, HH (1982). "The future of "received" English law in the countries of the Commonwealth". The Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa. 15 (1): 81–91. JSTOR 23245285.
- ^ "Gibraltar – The Dispute Resolution Review – Edition 10". The Law Reviews. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2020.[dead link]
- ^ Omar, P. J. "Ghost in the machine" (PDF). Jersey Law. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Re a separate Welsh jurisdiction" (PDF). Welsh Assembly. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ Wesley-Smith, Peter (1994). The Sources of Hong Kong Law. Hong Kong University Press. p. 115. ISBN 9622093639.
- ^ "English Law (Application)". Government of Gibraltar. Retrieved 7 October 2020.