Overview

This book traces the various strands of Wales' legal history from its beginnings to the present day, identifying and assessing the importance of the native Welsh, Roman and English influences to Wales' legal social identity. Wales has been served by a variety of legal systems and laws over the last two millennia. These include the civil law of Rome, which was to be the basis of the laws of much of modern Europe, and the English common law, which was to govern much of the English-speaking world. Alongside these influences, the customs of the native Welsh people maintained an important role not only until Wales was united legally with England in the sixteenth century but through to the nineteenth-century abolition of Wales' own law courts, the Great Sessions. Since then, the separate legal identity of Wales as witnessed by its legal history has played a significant part in the rise of national consciousness and the emergence of new, distinctly Welsh, legal institutions, such as the National Assembly, at the end of the twentieth century.

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9780708320648

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Reviews

'This is an excellent book, which fills a definite gap. There is no comparable over-arching study of Welsh legal history from the earliest times to the present. The breadth of knowledge necessary to write such a book is rarely to be found in one individual.' Gwen Seabourne, Senior Lecturer, University of Bristol School of Law This pioneering volume, clearly the result of very wide-ranging research and reading over many long years, fills a distinct gap...The breadth of scholarship is impressive...Professor Watkin evaluates with impeccable scholarship. The volume is provided with extremely full, detailed and genuinely helpful footnote references. There is also a most helpful glossary of the legal terms. This unique over-arching volume must be warmly welcomed as the first comprehensive account of Welsh legal history from pre-Roman times to the beginning of the twenty-first century. It will be warmly welcomed by professional academics and interested layman alike and will undoubtedly stand the test of time, hopefully inspiring further research in this rather neglected, complex field of study. J. Graham Jones, Planet.'The Legal History of Wales is a thorough and comprehensive account of the legal history of Wales starting with the period prior to the Roman conquest and ending with the Government of Wales Act to bring us up to the present day. It is a fascinating work that provides a unique account of both law from a Welsh perspective and Wales from a legal perspective.'Nathan Gibbs, The Cambrian Law Review, Vol. 38

Author Information

Thomas Glyn Watkin is Professor of Law and Head of the Law school at University of Wales, Bangor, and formerly Professor in the Department of Law, University of Wales Cardiff. His books include The Nature of Law, The Italian Legal Tradition, and An Historical Introduction to Modern Civil Law. He has written numerous articles in books and refereed journals.

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