United Kingdom
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- constitutional monarchy
- CONSTITUTION
- unwritten, partly common law, partly customs and statutes
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on common law traditions with some influences from the modern Roman and continental system, acts of Parliament are not reviewed by the judiciary
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, House of Commons and House of Lords
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- House of Lords (is the highest court of appeal) some Lords are appointed for life by the Queen
RELIGIONS
Christians 59.5%, Muslims 4.4%, Hindu 1.3%, others 2%, unspecified 7.2%, none 25.7%
From the country
- DECEMBER 15, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
UK Secretary David Blunkett insisted Saddam Hussein...
UK Secretary David Blunkett insisted Saddam Hussein must not be executed - because the death penalty would make him a martyr
- DECEMBER 14, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Britain's Foreign Office said it would make clear to...
Britain's Foreign Office said it would make clear to Iraqis that London was against the use of the death penalty in any trial involving captured president Saddam Hussein
- DECEMBER 8, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Britain's Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of...
Britain's Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Britain when she was sent to the gallows in 1955 for murdering her estranged lover
- NOVEMBER 27, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
An assurance that Michael McCrea, a 45 year old British...
An assurance that Michael McCrea, a 45 year old British national wanted in Singapore over a double murder, would not face the death penalty if he was extradited from Australia was not legally enforceable, the Australian Federal Court was told
- NOVEMBER 20, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Hundreds of prisoners on death row in the Caribbean...
Hundreds of prisoners on death row in the Caribbean were given new hope as the Privy Council in Britain declared the mandatory death penalty in Trinidad and Tobago unconstitutional
- NOVEMBER 19, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
More than 98 per cent of Daily Express readers who...
More than 98 per cent of Daily Express readers who took part in a phone poll suppored the reintroduction of capital punishment for "cold-blooded killings"
- NOVEMBER 16, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The newly-appointed Conservative Party shadow home...
The newly-appointed Conservative Party shadow home secretary has sparked controversy by suggesting United Kingdom should bring back the death penalty
- NOVEMBER 16, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A survey of 1,012 people for the Sunday Telegraph revealed...
A survey of 1,012 people for the Sunday Telegraph revealed that 62 per cent of those questioned wanted the death penalty brought back for child murderers, while 54 per cent backed its re-introduction for all murderers
- OCTOBER 28, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
George Kelly, hanged in the UK for murder was the victim...
George Kelly, hanged in the UK for murder was the victim of a miscarriage of justice which must be "deeply regretted", the Court of Appeal said
- OCTOBER 23, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A Nigerian court sentenced Ian Millar, a 54 year old...
A Nigerian court sentenced Ian Millar, a 54 year old British businessman, to death by hanging for murdering his 43-year-old partner Anne Marie Gale, on April 12, 2002, in their home in Lagos
- OCTOBER 10, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The United Kingdom ratified Protocol 13 to the European...
The United Kingdom ratified Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms banning the death penalty in all circumstances
- OCTOBER 10, 2003United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International urged people around the world...
Amnesty International urged people around the world to pressure countries to abolish the death penalty