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Nationality And Borders Act 2022

Territorial extent and application

  1. Section 86 sets out the territorial extent of the Act, that is the jurisdictions in which the Act forms part of the law. The extent of an Act can be different from its application. Application is about where an Act produces a practical effect.
  2. Almost all of the provisions in the Act deal with matters that are reserved to the UK Parliament. These provisions extend across the UK.
  3. There are seven sections that extend only to England and Wales:
    • Sections 25, 57, 66 and 67 make provision for civil legal services, by amending legislation that itself only extends to England and Wales (relevant sections of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012).
    • Section 47 makes provision for measures regarding prisoners liable to removal from the United Kingdom, by amending legislation that itself only extends to England and Wales (relevant sections of the Criminal Justice Act 2003).
    • Section 60 and 64 make provision for the identification of potential victims of slavery or human trafficking, and for support and assistance of victims of modern slavery, by amending legislation that itself only extends to England and Wales (relevant sections of the Modern Slavery Act 2015).
  4. There is one section that may depending on the circumstances extend either across the UK or only to England and Wales or only to England: section 67 makes provision for the disapplication of retained EU law deriving from the Trafficking Directive insofar as its continued existence would be incompatible with provision made by or under the Act. This section extends UK-wide insofar as any incompatibility is between the Directive and a provision that is reserved and extends across the UK. It does not extend to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland insofar as any incompatibility is between the Directive and a provision that is devolved in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
  5. Consequential powers at section 80 enable the Secretary of State to make provision by regulations in consequence of the act that amend, repeal or revoke any enactment, including Acts of the Scottish Parliament, Measures or Acts of Senedd Cymru and Northern Ireland legislation. These powers would by definition only be exercisable in consequence of provisions in the Act, which are either reserved to the UK Parliament or which extend only to England and Wales and which are not within the legislative competence of Senedd Cymru.
  6. See the table at Annex B for a summary of the position regarding territorial extent and application in the United Kingdom.
  7. In respect of territorial extent and application outside the United Kingdom, Part 1: Nationality extends and applies to the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, and to the British Overseas Territories.

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