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
- FEBRUARY 22, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A Highland community council applied for planning permission...
A Highland community council applied for planning permission to erect a 30ft set of gallows to mark the 250th anniversary of the wrongful hanging of James of the Glen
- FEBRUARY 20, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A British crack cocaine addict who murdered two war...
A British crack cocaine addict who murdered two war veterans was given 26 life sentences, after his father gave evidence against him
- FEBRUARY 16, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
UK home secretary David Blunkett stopped the extradition...
UK home secretary David Blunkett stopped the extradition of an Algerian accused of terrorism
- FEBRUARY 13, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A British MP has held talks with UK Foreign Secretary...
A British MP has held talks with UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in an attempt to save a British man on Death Row in the US
- FEBRUARY 9, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain,...
Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, is expected to have her conviction reduced to manslaughter
- FEBRUARY 6, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw wrote to the Governor...
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw wrote to the Governor of Georgia [Roy Barnes] urging him to commute the death sentence passed on a British man to imprisonment, [Prime Minister ] Tony Blair disclosed
- FEBRUARY 2, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Children growing up in Yorkshire's violent streets...
Children growing up in Yorkshire's violent streets described feeling frightened, trapped and unsafe
- JANUARY 22, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The UK Government is to ask America to ensure British...
The UK Government is to ask America to ensure British al Qaida suspects held in Cuba will not face the death penalty if tried in the US, Junior Foreign Office Minister Ben Bradshaw told MPs
- JANUARY 17, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Shoe bomber Richard Reid is facing the death penalty...
Shoe bomber Richard Reid is facing the death penalty in America after it emerged he will be accused of further charges
- JANUARY 17, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
A British hairdresser could face the death penalty...
A British hairdresser could face the death penalty after being charged with drug dealing in the United Arab Emirates
- JANUARY 17, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
Shoe bomber Richard Reid is facing the death penalty...
Shoe bomber Richard Reid is facing the death penalty in America after it emerged he will be accused of further charges
- JANUARY 16, 2002United KingdomDEATH PENALTY
The growing diplomatic row over the al-Qaeda prisoners...
The growing diplomatic row over the al-Qaeda prisoners being held in Cuba intensified as the United Nations demanded that the detainees' human rights were respected