The Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey are Crown Dependencies and are not a part of the United Kingdom. The Parliament of the United Kingdom on occasions introduces legislation that is extended to the islands, normally by the use of Orders in Council. For this reason it has been found useful to have a collective term for the combined territories. A statutory definition can be found in Schedule 1 of the Interpretation Act 1978.[3]
Section 5 of the Interpretation Act 1978 provides that "in any Act, unless the contrary intention appears" the expression "British Islands" is to be construed according to Schedule 1 of that Act, which contains the following paragraph:
"British Islands" means the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Subject to paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 2, that paragraph of Schedule 1 applies, so far as applicable, to Acts passed after the year 1889.[5]
Paragraph 4(2) provides:
The definition of "British Islands", in its application to Acts passed after the establishment of the Irish Free State but before the commencement of this Act, includes the Republic of Ireland.
The Irish Free State was established on 6 December 1922 and the Interpretation Act 1978 came into force on 1 January 1979.
The Interpretation Act 1978 applies to itself and to any act passed after the commencement of that act and, to the extent specified in part I of schedule 2, to acts passed before the commencement of that act.[6]
The expression "British Islands" was formerly defined by section 18(1) of the Interpretation Act 1889 as meaning the then United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.[8] This definition applied to the Interpretation Act 1889 itself, and to every act passed after the commencement of that act on 1 January 1890.[9]
Section 19 of the Lloyd's Signal Stations Act 1888 contained a definition of "British Islands".[10] The Lloyd's Signal Stations Act 1888 was repealed by the Lloyd's Act 1982.
The Irish Free State left the United Kingdom on 6 December 1922 (although the latter's full name was not changed to "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" until the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927). On 27 March 1923 an Order in Council was made changing the default statutory interpretation of various expressions, including "British Islands", "United Kingdom", and "Ireland"; they would be interpreted within the British Islands as excluding the Irish Free State, but interpreted elsewhere in the British Empire as including the Irish Free State.[11]
Colonial statutes
Section 5(2) of the Interpretation Ordinance, 1891 of British Guiana contained a definition of "British Islands".[12]
Section 2 of the Interpretation Ordinance (c 2) (1953) of British Honduras contained a definition of "British Islands".[13]
Section 28(ii) of the Interpretation and Common Form Ordinance, 1903 of the Seychelles contained a definition of "British Islands".[14]
Law
Section 13(3)[15] of the Foreign and Colonial Parcel Post Warrant 1897 (SR&O 1897/721) and section 6(2)[16] of the Foreign and Colonial Post (Insured Boxes) Warrant 1908 (SR&O 1908/1313) refer to "the law of the British Islands".
Inland
Inland postal packets
Section 62(16)[17] of the Inland Post Warrant 1936 (SR&O 1936/618) defined the expression "Inland" in terms of the British Islands.
Inland bills
The definition of "inland bill" in section 4(1) of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 refers to the British Islands.
Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice the defence of the British Islands.
Fisheries
The exclusive fishery limits of the British Islands were defined by section 28 of the Sea Fisheries Act 1883. This definition was repealed by Schedule 2 to the Fishery Limits Act 1964.
The fishery limits of the British Islands were defined by section 1(1) of the Fishery Limits Act 1964. This provision was repealed by the Fishery Limits Act 1976.
Extradition
Francis Taylor Piggott said the effect of section 37 of the Fugitive Offenders Act 1881 was to make of the British Islands one coherent whole for the purposes of that Act.[21] That Act was repealed by Schedule 2 to the Fugitive Offenders Act 1967.
Frederick Stroud. "British Islands". The Judicial Dictionary. First Edition. 1890. p 90: [1][2]. See also "Inland" at p 391.
John B Saunders (ed). "British Islands". Words and Phrases Legally Defined. Second Edition. Butterworths. 1969. Volume 1. Page 187. See also pages 8 and 278.
Words and Phrases Legally Defined. Fourth Edition. 2007. Volume 1. Pages 7, 84, 192 and 280.
Kenneth Roberts-Wray. Commonwealth and Colonial Law. Frederick A Praeger. 1966. Pages 31, 33 to 37, 40, 72, 363, 428, 533, 663 et seq.
Hilaire Barnett. Constitutional & Administrative Law. Fourth Edition. Cavendish Publishing Limited. 2002. Pages 64 to 66. Tenth Edition. Routledge. 2013. Pages 16 to 18. See also page 531.
A W Bradley and K D Ewing. Constitutional and Administrative Law. Fourteenth Edition. Pearson Education Limited. (Pearson Longman). 2007. Page 35.
Knapp (ed). "The British Islands". International Enclopedia of Comparative Law. Mouton. The Hague. Mohr. Tubingen. 1976. Volume 1. National Reports: U. Appendix. Page U-103 et seq.
Kenneth R Simmonds, "The British Islands and the Community: I–Jersey" (1969) 6Common Market Law Review 156
Kenneth R Simmonds, "The British Islands and the Community: II—The Isle of Man" (1970) 7 Common Market Law Review 454
Kenneth R Simmonds, "The British Islands and the Community: III Guernsey" (1971) 8 Common Market Law Review 475
Tony Wright (ed). The British Political Process: An Introduction. Routledge. London and New York. 2000. Page 19: [3][4].
Paul Rylance. Writing and Drafting in Legal Practice. Oxford University Press. 2012. Paragraph 28.4.2 at page 243.
Burnand, Burnett Hall, Boland and Watts (eds). The Annual Practice 1949. (66th Annual Issue). Sweet & Maxwell. Stevens and Sons. Butterworth & Co. London. Volume 2. Page 3214.
