RADA R Oxford Brookes University – Research Archive and Digital Asset Repository (RADAR) Edge, P Manx public law Edge, P (1997) Manx public law. Isle of Man: Isle of Man Law Society. This version is available: http://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/items/b86ba867-c96b-c287- 3466 2d5a5c1b92f2/1/ Available in the RADAR: December 2011 Copyright © and Moral Rights are retained by the author(s) and/ or other copyright owners. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution‐NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/license/by‐ nd/3.0/ This document is the electronic version of the original printed version. www.brookes.ac.uk/go/radar Directorate of Learning Resources MANX PUBLIC LAW by PETER W EDGE LL.B. (Hons.), Ph.D. (Cantab.), Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Central Lancashire. Foreword by DEEMSTER T.W. CAIN, M.A., Q.C.. Isle of Man Law Society 1997 [This electronic edition prepared 2011] i Published by Isle of Man Law Society, 33-37 Athol Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1LB. First edition printed in Preston by University of Central Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE. Electronic edition hosted in Oxford by Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, OX3 9EH. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder and the publisher, application for which shall be made to the publisher. This electronic edition is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA. © Isle of Man Law Society, 1997. ii Table of Contents. MANX PUBLIC LAW..............................................................................................................................I TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................................III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. .............................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................3 Readership. ..........................................................................................................................................3 Aim of the Text.....................................................................................................................................3 Arrangement of Materials....................................................................................................................4 PART I: THE MANX LEGAL SYSTEM. ...........................................................................................6 CHAPTER TWO: THE JURISDICTION. ..........................................................................................................7 The Legal Status of the Isle of Man. ....................................................................................................7 The Entry of the Isle of Man into the Crown's Dominions.............................................................................. 7 The Legal Effect of Revestment...................................................................................................................... 9 The Isle of Man as Part of Empire and Commonwealth................................................................................ 10 The Boundaries of the Jurisdiction....................................................................................................11 CHAPTER THREE: SOURCES OF LAW - LEGISLATION. ..............................................................................12 Acts of Tynwald..................................................................................................................................12 The Powers of Tynwald. ............................................................................................................................... 12 Legislative Process........................................................................................................................................ 14 Adoption of Parliamentary Models by Tynwald........................................................................................... 20 Finding Acts of Tynwald. ............................................................................................................................. 38 Acts of Parliament. ............................................................................................................................39 The Powers of Parliament. ............................................................................................................................ 39 Conventional Limits...................................................................................................................................... 49 The Juristic Basis for Parliamentary Authority............................................................................................. 56 Finding Acts of Parliament. .......................................................................................................................... 58 Orders in Council. .............................................................................................................................59 Legislation by Order in Council.................................................................................................................... 59 Disallowance by Order in Council. ............................................................................................................... 61 Secondary Legislation. ......................................................................................................................62 Finding Secondary Legislation...................................................................................................................... 62 Interpreting Statutes. .........................................................................................................................62 Understanding the Context: Case-law on English Statutes. .......................................................................... 62 Declarations of Customary Law........................................................................................................67 Finding Declarations of Customary Law. ..................................................................................................... 67 Conclusions. ......................................................................................................................................67 CHAPTER FOUR: SOURCES OF LAW - CASE-LAW. ....................................................................................69 Manx Precedents. ..............................................................................................................................69 iii Rules of Precedent......................................................................................................................................... 72 Reporting....................................................................................................................................................... 72 Precedents From The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council........................................................74 English Precedents. ...........................................................................................................................79 The Legal Value of English Precedents in the Manx Courts......................................................................... 79 The Real Value of English cases in the Manx courts. ................................................................................... 84 Factors Leading to the Adoption of English Common Law by the Manx Courts. ........................................ 94 Conclusions................................................................................................................................................... 96 Precedents from Other Jurisdictions. ................................................................................................97 Conclusions. ......................................................................................................................................97 CHAPTER FIVE: SOURCES OF LAW - OTHER SOURCES OF LAW................................................................98 International Law. .............................................................................................................................98 Academic Writings...........................................................................................................................100 Consensual Law-Making. ................................................................................................................101 Other Materials Relevant to Legal Research...................................................................................102 PART II: THE MANX CONSTITUTION.......................................................................................104 CHAPTER SIX: A BRIEF CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY..............................................................................105