Summaries

Devolved Administrations

Voting Ages

Reformation vs Restoration

Two different things that are easy to confuse:

Criminal & Civil Law

Courts

Zoom-in on the diagram to explore the different courts in each UK nation:

flowchart TB
  %% Style definitions
  classDef top fill:#003366,stroke:#001F3F,color:white,font-weight:bold;
  classDef nation fill:#f2f2f2,stroke:#333,color:#000,font-weight:bold;
  classDef court fill:#ffffff,stroke:#666,color:#111;
  classDef serious fill:#ffe5e5,stroke:#cc0000,color:#000,font-weight:bold;
  classDef minor fill:#e5f5e0,stroke:#228B22,color:#000;
  classDef youth fill:#e0f0ff,stroke:#0073e6,color:#000;
  classDef civil fill:#fff5cc,stroke:#cc9900,color:#000;

  %% Top-level
  Judiciary(["Judiciary<br/>(Judges interpret law and ensure fair trials)"]):::top

  %% England, Wales & Northern Ireland
  subgraph ENG_WAL_NI ["England, Wales & Northern Ireland"]
    direction TB
    EW_Mag["Magistrates' Court<br/>(minor offences)"]:::minor
    EW_Crown["Crown Court<br/>(serious offences)<br/>Judge + Jury (12 members)"]:::serious
    EW_Youth["Youth Court<br/>(ages 10–17)"]:::youth
    EW_County["County Court<br/>(civil disputes)"]:::civil
    EW_High["High Court<br/>(serious civil cases)"]:::civil
    EW_Small["Small Claims<br/>(up to £10,000)"]:::civil
  end
  class ENG_WAL_NI nation;

  %% Scotland
  subgraph SCOT ["Scotland"]
    direction TB
    SC_JP["Justice of the Peace Court<br/>(minor offences)"]:::minor
    SC_Sheriff["Sheriff Court<br/>(criminal & civil cases)"]:::civil
    SC_High["High Court<br/>(most serious criminal cases)<br/>Judge + Jury (15 members)"]:::serious
    SC_Children["Children’s Hearings System<br/>(young offenders)"]:::youth
    SC_CourtSession["Court of Session<br/>(serious civil cases — Edinburgh)"]:::civil
    SC_Small["Simple Claims<br/>(up to £5,000)"]:::civil
  end
  class SCOT nation;

  %% Northern Ireland
  subgraph NI ["Northern Ireland"]
    direction TB
    NI_District["District Judge / Deputy District Judge<br/>(minor cases; legally qualified)"]:::minor
    NI_Youth["Youth Conferencing<br/>(young offenders)"]:::youth
    NI_Small["Small Claims<br/>(up to £5,000)"]:::civil
  end
  class NI nation;

  %% Main connections
  Judiciary --> ENG_WAL_NI
  Judiciary --> SCOT
  Judiciary --> NI

  %% England/Wales/N.I. criminal flow
  EW_Mag --> EW_Crown
  EW_Youth --> EW_Crown

  %% Scotland criminal flow
  SC_JP --> SC_Sheriff
  SC_Sheriff --> SC_High
  SC_Children --> SC_Sheriff

  %% Northern Ireland flow
  NI_District --> EW_Crown
  NI_Youth --> NI_District

  %% Civil courts flow
  EW_County --> EW_High
  EW_Small --> EW_County
  SC_Sheriff --> SC_CourtSession
  SC_Small --> SC_Sheriff
  NI_Small --> EW_County

Minimum Ages

Awards

Notable British Artists

Notable British Authors

UK Inventions

Crown Dependencies & Overseas Territories