Lawyers' Empires: the Anglicisation of the Manx Bar and Judiciary
LAWYERS' EMPIRES: THE ANGLICISATION OF THE MANX BAR AND JUDICIARY Peter W. Edge* I. INTRODUCTON The Isle of Man is a very small jurisdiction, roughly equidistant from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. At various times in its histo- ry it has been dominated by one or other of its larger neighbours. Since 1765 it has been under the political and legal control of the British Crown, although the Isle of Man has never been absorbed into the United Kingdom. The special status of the Isle of Man as a separate territory, rather than an administrative unit such as a county, has led to it retaining its own unique laws and legal system.' Thus, there are distinct Manx courts, manned by distinctively Manx judicial officers, administering a body of law which, while often identical to English law in content, remained formally distinct and, in some areas, different in substance. This unique legal system was, after 1777, served by a local, profes- sional bar. The Manx Bar is a unified body, by which is meant that all the functions required of a legal profession are carried out by a single profession-the advocates-rather than dividing the roles between two separate professions-such as the barrister and solicitor in England. Thus, after 1777 a single professional body was responsible for providing legal advice to private individuals and state officials and arguing cases in the Manx courts. I have approached the Anglicisation of the Manx legal system from * Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Central Lancashire. Ph.D., Cambridge University, 1994; LL.B., Lancaster University, 1989.
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