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
- JULY 16, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The UK Foreign Office said that although it welcomed...
The UK Foreign Office said that although it welcomed the verdict on Omar Sheikh, Britain was opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances
- JULY 11, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Britain said it had agreed to send a man to the United...
Britain said it had agreed to send a man to the United States to face a murder trial after obtaining assurances he would not face death penalty
- JULY 11, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Britain said it had agreed to send a man to the United...
Britain said it had agreed to send a man to the United States to face a murder trial after obtaining assurances he would not face death penalty
- JULY 8, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Three men who pulverised a security guard's face in...
Three men who pulverised a security guard's face in a "sadistic and savage" attack were given life sentences for a murder that a senior judge said was like no case he had ever experienced before
- JULY 4, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Britain's highest court has rejected a bid by relatives...
Britain's highest court has rejected a bid by relatives of James Hanratty, one of the last men hanged in Britain, to clear his name 40 years after he was executed for murder
- JUNE 27, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A UK MP representing Knowsley South, Eddie O'Hara,...
A UK MP representing Knowsley South, Eddie O'Hara, urged US President George Bush to scrap the death penalty
- JUNE 13, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Prime Minister Tony Blair has been asked to step in...
Prime Minister Tony Blair has been asked to step in to save death row Scot Kenny Richey from execution
- MAY 10, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A 53-year-old woman English woman from Chelmsford has...
A 53-year-old woman English woman from Chelmsford has met a 28-year-old killer on Ohio's death row
- MAY 10, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Britain's Court of Appeal dismissed a bid to clear...
Britain's Court of Appeal dismissed a bid to clear the name of James Hanratty, one of the last men hanged in Britain, saying 40 years after his execution that DNA evidence had proven his guilt
- MAY 3, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The United Kingdom signed Protocol 13 to the European...
The United Kingdom signed Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which ensures the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances
- MAY 2, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty will not be used in Britain, even...
The death penalty will not be used in Britain, even in time of war, under the terms of an international agreement signed by the Government
- APRIL 30, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A human rights group criticised Saudi Arabia's "secretive"...
A human rights group criticised Saudi Arabia's "secretive" judicial system following confusion over the sentencing of seven Westerners on trial for alleged involvement in a bombing campaign in the kingdom