A National Assembly Committee has said the current jurisdiction of England and Wales will need to be changed as Wales continues to make its own laws.
The Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee believes the Welsh legal identity will continue to grow as new laws are passed by the National Assembly following the outcome of the March 2011 referendum.
While not examining the question of whether Wales should have its own separate legal system, the committee did state that any discussion or debate leading up to such a decision must include and engage with the views of the people of Wales.
It also concluded that while a separate Welsh jurisdiction was constitutionally viable, the issue of whether one should be established or not is ultimately a political decision and that the precise details of how it should be established will be for future political debate and negotiation.
“The committee believes that a separate legal jurisdiction system in Wales is constitutionally viable, but the issue of whether one should be established or not is ultimately a political decision” said David Melding AM, Chair of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee.
“It became clear during the course of our inquiry however that an emerging Welsh legal identity will, in the short term, require practical changes to the current system.
“Such changes would also have the added benefit of making a move to a separate jurisdiction easier in the future, if such a decision is made.
“But the debate surrounding that decision needs to actively involve the people of Wales and be of clear benefit to them.
“We hope our findings will help to both kickstart the debate across Wales and to help inform the Welsh Government’s own considerations of this issue.”