The New Model Wales

The United Kingdom is currently undergoing a rapid process of fundamental constitutional change. One of the chief developments is a redistribution of law-making and governmental powers to different territories of the Union. It is a programme of devolution, as befits an unwritten constitution characterized by the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, and not federalism. The case of Wales, historically closely integrated with England,1 presents here its own challenges. The aim of this article is to examine the process of change for Wales, to explicate and critically assess the Welsh scheme of devolution, and to consider possible future development in a broad legal and constitutional setting.