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British possession
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British possession
A British possession, in common statutory usage, is a country or territory other than the United Kingdom which has the British monarch as its head of state.
In common statutory usage the British possessions include British Overseas Territories, and the Commonwealth realms but not protectorates. British admiralty law has a less expansive meaning under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, where a "relevant British possession", includes the Crown Dependencies (the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) and "any colony" (the self-governing British Overseas Territories). It may also be used more expansively, to refer to member states of the Commonwealth of Nations which have a continuing tradition of British law even after they have become republics, and even if those countries no longer recognize themselves as British possessions.
Although the term enjoyed some use in statutes prior to 1889, the formal definition of British Possession came in the Interpretation Act 1889, which was superseded by the current Interpretation Act 1978.
Two acts in the Parliament of the United Kingdom define the current status of British possessions: the Interpretation Act 1978 and the Interpretation Act 1889. In the reign of Queen Victoria (r. 1837–1901), the Interpretation Act 1889 defined the British possessions in its article 18, section 2:
"British possession" means any part of Her Majesty's dominions outside the United Kingdom; and where parts of such dominions are under both a central and a local legislature, all parts under the central legislature are deemed, for the purposes of this definition, to be one British possession.
— Interpretation Act 1889, 18.2
According to the 1890 1st edition of Stroud's Judicial Dictionary, this definition applied to "In all Acts of Parliament passed after the 31st Dec. 1889". According to Kenneth Roberts-Wray's 1966 Commonwealth and Colonial Law, this definition "includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man for they are not in the United Kingdom, q. v.". The last part of this definition had already appeared in earlier legislation, including in the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act 1883 (46 & 47 Vict. c. 57). Hence, according to the 1933 11th volume of the 2nd edition of Halsbury's Laws of England edited by Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham:
A British possession is defined by statute to be any part of the British dominions except the United Kingdom, and its territorial waters. When parts of such dominions are under both a central and a local legislature, all parts under the central legislature are deemed to be one British possession. But this principle applies only to matters falling within the authority of the central legislature.
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British possession
A British possession, in common statutory usage, is a country or territory other than the United Kingdom which has the British monarch as its head of state.
In common statutory usage the British possessions include British Overseas Territories, and the Commonwealth realms but not protectorates. British admiralty law has a less expansive meaning under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, where a "relevant British possession", includes the Crown Dependencies (the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) and "any colony" (the self-governing British Overseas Territories). It may also be used more expansively, to refer to member states of the Commonwealth of Nations which have a continuing tradition of British law even after they have become republics, and even if those countries no longer recognize themselves as British possessions.
Although the term enjoyed some use in statutes prior to 1889, the formal definition of British Possession came in the Interpretation Act 1889, which was superseded by the current Interpretation Act 1978.
Two acts in the Parliament of the United Kingdom define the current status of British possessions: the Interpretation Act 1978 and the Interpretation Act 1889. In the reign of Queen Victoria (r. 1837–1901), the Interpretation Act 1889 defined the British possessions in its article 18, section 2:
"British possession" means any part of Her Majesty's dominions outside the United Kingdom; and where parts of such dominions are under both a central and a local legislature, all parts under the central legislature are deemed, for the purposes of this definition, to be one British possession.
— Interpretation Act 1889, 18.2
According to the 1890 1st edition of Stroud's Judicial Dictionary, this definition applied to "In all Acts of Parliament passed after the 31st Dec. 1889". According to Kenneth Roberts-Wray's 1966 Commonwealth and Colonial Law, this definition "includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man for they are not in the United Kingdom, q. v.". The last part of this definition had already appeared in earlier legislation, including in the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act 1883 (46 & 47 Vict. c. 57). Hence, according to the 1933 11th volume of the 2nd edition of Halsbury's Laws of England edited by Douglas Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham:
A British possession is defined by statute to be any part of the British dominions except the United Kingdom, and its territorial waters. When parts of such dominions are under both a central and a local legislature, all parts under the central legislature are deemed to be one British possession. But this principle applies only to matters falling within the authority of the central legislature.
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