Both English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern

Ireland law are based on common-law principles.[189] The essence of

common law is that, subject to statute, the law is developed by judges in
courts, applying statute, precedent and common sense to the facts before
them to give explanatory judgements of the relevant legal principles,
which are reported and binding in future similar cases (stare
decisis).[190] The courts of England and Wales are headed by the Senior
Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the Court of Appeal, the High
Court of Justice (for civil cases) and the Crown Court (for criminal
cases). The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land for both
criminal and civil appeal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
and any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the same
jurisdiction, often having a persuasive effect in other
jurisdictions.[191]
The High Court of Justiciarythe supreme criminal court of Scotland.
Scots law is a hybrid system based on both common-law and civil-law
principles. The chief courts are the Court of Session, for civil
cases,[192] and the High Court of Justiciary, for criminal cases.[193]
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom serves as the highest court of
appeal for civil cases under Scots law.[194] Sheriff courts deal with
most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a
jury, known as sheriff solemn court, or with a sheriff and no jury, known
as sheriff summary Court.[195] The Scots legal system is unique in having
three possible verdicts for a criminal trial: "guilty", "not guilty" and
"not proven". Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an
acquittal.[196]
Crime in England and Wales increased in the period between 1981 and 1995,
though since that peak there has been an overall fall of 66% in recorded
crime from 1995 to 2015,[197] according to crime statistics. The prison
population of England and Wales has increased to 86,000, giving England
and Wales the highest rate of incarceration in Western Europe at 148 per
100,000.[198][199] Her Majesty's Prison Service, which reports to the
Ministry of Justice, manages most of the prisons within England and
Wales. The murder rate in England and Wales has stabilized in the first
half of the 2010s with a murder rate around 1 per 100,000 which is half
the peak in 2002 and similar to the rate in the 1980s.[200] More sexual
offences have been reported to the police since 2002.[201][202] Crime in
Scotland fell slightly in 2014/2015 to its lowest level in 39 years in
with 59 killings for a murder rate of 1.1 per 100,000. Scotland's prisons
are overcrowded but the prison population is shrinking.[203]
Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
The UK is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a
member of NATO, the Commonwealth of Nations, the G7 finance ministers,
the G7 forum (previously the G8 forum), the G20, the OECD, the WTO, the
Council of Europe, the OSCE, and is a member state of the European Union.
The UK is said to have a "Special Relationship" with the United States
and a close partnership with Francethe "Entente cordiale"and shares
nuclear weapons technology with both countries.[204][205] The UK is also
closely linked with the Republic of Ireland; the two countries share a
Common Travel Area and co-operate through the British-Irish
Intergovernmental Conference and the British-Irish Council. Britain's
global presence and influence is further amplified through its trading
relations, foreign investments, official development assistance and
military engagements.[206]