United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
1. Constitutional structure and position of IHL in domestic law
The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy, with the reigning monarch as head of State. The national parliament is in London. Since 1998 there has been a Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh (Scotland Act of 1998), a National Assembly for Wales, in Cardiff (Government of Wales Act 1998), and a Legislative Assembly for Northern Ireland, in Belfast (Northern Ireland Act 1998). There is no single written constitutional document for the United Kingdom.
Any treaty ratified by the United Kingdom government must be implemented by means of domestic legislation where any change to the law is required or where the rights and obligations of individuals are concerned. For this reason it is frequently the case that the enactment of domestic legislation by Parliament is a prerequisite for ratification of a treaty by the government. The most common practice is the adoption of primary legislation to specifically set out those parts of the treaty to be implemented through domestic law. Alternatively, a reference may be made to particular articles of the treaty, which are then added as a schedule to the legislation. In some cases the whole of the treaty may be added as a schedule. The advantage of adding the relevant article (or the whole of the treaty) as a schedule is one of convenience (having the act and the treaty in one place). It also helps to spread knowledge of the text of the article or treaty. The incorporation of a treaty as a schedule does not in itself make the treaty a part of the domestic law of the United Kingdom (see, for example, Cheney v. Conn, Inspector of Taxes 
, and R. v. Secretary of State for Defence, Ex Parte Thring ). Where there is no direct implementation of a treaty (or part of a treaty) through domestic legislation, the courts follow the principle of construing national law, in so far as they are able to do so, in the light of the United Kingdom's international obligations.
Since 1998, legislation to give effect to treaties in domestic law (called "implementing legislation") may also be passed by the Scottish Parliament. The first example is the International Criminal Court (Scotland) Act 2001, which must be considered jointly with the United Kingdom's International Criminal Court Act 2001. Since the British government has responsibility for the foreign affairs of territories outside Great Britain and Northern Ireland, it enacts (by secondary legislation) the appropriate implementing legislation for those territories. These are Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and all "dependent territories" (as defined in Schedule 6 to the British Nationality Act 1981, although on occasions referred to as "colonies" or "overseas territories"). British dependent territories are Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Antarctic Territory, the British Indian Ocean Territory, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands and Dependencies, Gibraltar, Monserrat, Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, Oeno Islands, St. Helena and Dependencies, Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus (Akrotiri and Dhekelia), Turks and Caicos Islands, Virgin Islands.
Regulations may be made under the authority of an act of parliament or under the royal prerogative. If a treaty is considered not to require any alteration to national law it may be ratified without any implementing legislation. An example is the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons.
The United Kingdom ratified the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 on 23 September 1957 and both Additional Protocols I and II on 28 January 1998. It accepted the competence of the International Fact-Finding Commission under Article 90 of Protocol I on 17 May 1999.
Specific articles of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 were implemented into the law of the United Kingdom by the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 (each Convention was added as a schedule to the Act). The same procedure was adopted with the two Additional Protocols of 1977 in the Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act 1995.
The Geneva Conventions Act 1957 was applied to territories outside Great Britain and Northern Ireland by the following statutory instruments: Geneva Conventions Act (Colonial Territories) Order 1959, S.I. No. 1301; Geneva Conventions Act (Isle of Man) Order 1970, S.I. No. 1677; Geneva Conventions Act (Jersey) Order 1966, S.I. No.949; Geneva Conventions Act (Guernsey) Order 1966, S.I. No. 948. The Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act 1995 was applied by the Geneva Conventions Act (Isle of Man) Order 1999, S.I. No. 1743; Geneva Conventions Act (Jersey) Order 1999, S.I. No. 1744; Geneva Conventions Act (Guernsey) Order 1999, S.I. No. 1316; and Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act (Overseas Territories) Order 2002, S.I. No. 1076 .
In note No. 163 of 1961, the UK government stated that the four Geneva Conventions apply to all territories for whose international relations it was responsible, except that in the case of the British Protected States of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the Trucial States, the UK undertook to apply the Conventions in those territories to the extent of its powers in relation to them. In note No. 49 of 2002, the UK government declared that its ratification of the Additional Protocols and its declaration under Art. 90 of Protocol I would be extended to the following territories for whose international relations it was responsible: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cyaman Ilsands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, St Helena and Dependencies, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It also declared that it reserved the right to extend its ratification of the Additional Protocols and/or its declaration under Art. 90 of Protocol I at a later date to any other territories for whose international relations it was responsible.
2. Implementing institution
The Inter-departmental Committee for International Humanitarian Law (the United Kingdom's national IHL commission or committee) was established in 1999. It is composed of representatives of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for International Development, the Home Office, a range of other government departments, representatives from the devolved authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a representative from the British Red Cross. Its functions include considering how legislation might be enacted or amended to implement instruments of IHL; encouraging work to spread knowledge of the law to the armed forces and to other segments of the population, including the police, civil servants, teachers, the judiciary, the medical profession and journalists; considering what should constitute the United Kingdom's position in negotiations on and adherence to IHL treaties; and monitoring new developments and considering their implications for the United Kingdom.
3. Legal advisers
Each of the three armed services has a body of service lawyers to advise commanders and others on IHL issues. In the army, for instance, there are some 100 lawyers. They are also involved in the training of all ranks on military law and humanitarian law issues. In addition, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Ministry of Defence, have legal advisers with specialist knowledge of international humanitarian law. Training is provided both for legal advisers from different government departments and for policy and other officials responsible for, or with an interest in, international humanitarian law.
The British Red Cross is very active in spreading knowledge of international humanitarian law to various groups. There is close liaison between university academics who specialize in these fields, service and government lawyers and the British Red Cross.
4. Bibliography
M. R. Eaton, "National implementation of international humanitarian law in the United Kingdom", in ICRC Committees or other national bodies for international humanitarian law, Meeting of Experts (1997).
Halsbury's Laws of England (in particular, see volumes 6, 8[2], 49[1]).
Halsbury's Statutes (in particular, see volumes 10 and 31).
G. Risius, "Prisoners of war in the United Kingdom", in P. Rowe (ed.), The Gulf War 1990-91 in International and English Law, Routledge and Sweet & Maxwell, 1993, Chap. 14.
A.P.V. Rogers, "War Crimes Trials under the Royal Warrant – British Practice 1945-49", International and Comparative Law Quarterly, vol. 39, 1990, p. 780.
Peter Rowe, Defence: the Legal Implications – Military Law and the Laws of War, London, 1987.
Peter Rowe, "Implementation of international humanitarian law at the national level with special reference to developments of modern warfare", Revue de droit militaire et de droit de la guerre , vol. XXVIII, no. 1/2, 1989, pp. 187-210.
Peter Rowe, "The United Kingdom position", in H. Fox and M. A. Meyer, eds., Armed Conflict and the New Law, Volume II, Effecting Compliance, London: British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 1993, pp. 203-213.
Peter Rowe and Michael A. Meyer, "Ratification by the United Kingdom of the 1977 Protocols", Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, vol. 45, 1994, pp. 343-363.
Peter Rowe and Michael A. Meyer, "The Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act 1995: a generally minimalist approach", International and Comparative Law Quarterly, vol. 45, 1996, pp. 476-484.
B. Walsh, "Detention and deportation of foreign nationals in the United Kingdom during the Gulf War", in P. Rowe, (ed.), The Gulf War 1990-91 in International and English Law, Routledge and Sweet & Maxwell, 1993, Chap. 15.
