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Act of Union 1536

Laws in Wales Act 1536
Long title An Acte for Laws & Justice to be ministred in Wales in like fourme as it is in this Realme
Citation 27 Henry VIII c. 26
Territorial extent Wales, Marcher Lordships
Dates
Repealed 21 December 1993
Other legislation
Repealed by Welsh Language Act 1993
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Laws in Wales Act 1542
Long title An Acte for certaine Ordinaunces in the Kinges Majesties Domynion and Principalitie of Wales
Citation 34 & 35 Henry VIII c. 26
Territorial extent Wales, Marcher Lordships
Dates
Repealed 3 January 1995
Other legislation
Repealed by Welsh Language Act 1993
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
Treaty of Union 1706
Acts of Union 1707
Personal Union of 1714 1714
Wales and Berwick Act 1746
Irish Constitution 1782
Acts of Union 1800
Government of Ireland Act 1920
Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927
N. Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
Northern Ireland Assembly 1973
N. Ireland Constitution Act 1973
Referendum Act 1975
Scotland Act 1978
Wales Act 1978
Local Government (Wales) Act 1994
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
Referendums (Scotland & Wales) Act 1997
Good Friday Agreement 1998
Northern Ireland Act 1998
Government of Wales Act 1998
Scotland Act 1998
Government of Wales Act 2006
Northern Ireland Act 2009
European Union Act 2011
Scotland Act 2012
Edinburgh Agreement 2012
Wales Act 2014
European Union Referendum Act 2015
Scotland Act 2016
Wales Act 2017

The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 (Welsh: Y Deddfau Cyfreithiau yng Nhgymru 1535 a 1542) were parliamentary measures by which Wales became a full and equal part of the Kingdom of England and the legal system of England was extended to Wales and the norms of English administration introduced. The intention was to create a single state and legal jurisdiction. The Acts were passed during the reign of King Henry VIII of England, who came from the Welsh Tudor dynasty.

Before these Acts, Wales was excluded from Parliamentary representation and divided between the Principality of Wales, and a large number of feudal statelets; the marcher lordships.

The Act declared King Henry's intentions, that because of differences in law and language:

- and therefore:

They are sometimes misleadingly known as the Acts of Union (Welsh: Y Deddfau Uno), but the legal short title of each Act has since 1948 been "The Laws in Wales Act". They are also often seen cited by the years they received Royal Assent, 1536 and 1543 respectively, although the official citation uses the contemporary year in which the parliamentary session began. In the case of each of these Acts this date occurred between 1 January and 25 March, adding to the ambiguity in the dating because of the use at that time of the Julian or "old style" calendar and observed New Year's Day on 25 March rather than 1 January.

From the conquest of Gwynedd in 1282–83 until the passing of the Laws in Wales Acts, the administrative system of Wales had remained unchanged. By the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 the territory of the native Welsh rulers had been broken up into the five counties of Anglesey, Caernarfon, Cardigan, Carmarthen, and Merioneth. Even though the five counties were subject to English criminal law, the "Principality" was the king of England's own personal fief and Welsh law continued to be used for civil cases. The rest of Wales, except for the county of Flint, which was part of the Principality, and the Royal lordships of Glamorgan and Pembroke, was made up of numerous small lordships, each with its own courts, laws and other customs.


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