Legislation | Statutory Law - LAW 200, 220, 250, 260 | Common Law in England

Introduction

Find Primary Legislation

Acts of Parliament are the supreme law in the United Kingdom. Acts of Parliament are sometimes called Primary Legislation, and fall into one of three categories:

Public General Acts which are universally applied;
Private Acts which affect only specified localities, entities or individuals;
Hybrid Acts combines elements of both public and private acts.

The majority of UK legal research involves Public General Acts.

Links below search various aspects of Legislative.gov.uk and will provide UK legislation.

Legislative.gov.uk
A sophisticated and easy-to-use tool for UK statutory research. Provides access to both primary and secondary legislation for the UK and for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Covers all types of legislation enacted from 1988 to the present and most primary legislation enacted prior to 1988. This free database is maintained by the UK's National Archives.
Changes Made to Legislation
From 2002 - present.
Enacted Legislation
Enacted legislation is displayed in its current consolidated version. This version incorporates all subsequent changes to the original legislation.
Geographical Extent | Legislation
Limit your search to UK, Great Britain, England & Wales, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, European Union.
New Legislation
Latest 10 days only. Strives to publish legislation simultaneously or at least within 24 hours of its publication in printed form.
Point in Time Legislation
Find legislation as it stood at a particular point in time. 1991 to present.
BAILII
The British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII) BAILII also provides free online access to primary and secondary legislation for the UK and Ireland. It is not as sleek and user-friendly as that of Legislation.gov.uk, but its content is drawn from the same National Archives database.

Image: Palace of Westminster (House of Parliament) at night as seen from the south bank of the River Thames, London. Diliff. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.5.

Find Secondary Legislation

Secondary legislation, also known as delegated legislation, refers to specialized rules and regulations issued by ministers or governmental entities acting under authority delegated to them by an Act of Parliament. It is analogous to regulations issued by United States administrative agencies.

There are three types of secondary legislation:

Statutory Instruments (SI) are most common;
Orders in Council;
Orders of Council.

This House of Commons Background Paper on Statutory Instruments (PDF) will provide more information on the distinctions between various types of secondary legislation.

Legislative.gov.uk
A sophisticated and easy-to-use tool for UK statutory research. Provides access to both primary and secondary legislation for the UK and for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Covers all types of legislation enacted from 1988 to the present and most primary legislation enacted prior to 1988. This free database is maintained by the UK's National Archives.