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England and Wales is a political and legal unit with the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom. Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, Wales follows the legal system known as English law, and the two form the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England. England and Wales are therefore treated as a single unit (see state) in private international law. During the evolution of the United Kingdom, Wales has been considered a principality, the Principality of Wales, rather than an incorporated country, despite constituting a separate country ethnically and culturally. The devolved National Assembly for Wales (Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) was created in 1999 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales, including powers to amend English law from Parliament. These powers were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006, and the Welsh Assembly Government can now propose and pass its own laws. England and Wales were first administered as a single unit by the Romans, as the province of Britannia. Welsh law developed from this base. It was first codified by Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good; reigned 942-950) when he was king of most of Wales. The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 replaced Welsh criminal law with English law. Welsh law continued to be used for civil cases until the annexation of Wales to England in the 16th century. England and Wales are treated as a single unit, for most purposes, because the two form the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England. The continuance of Scots law was guaranteed under the Acts of Union 1707, and as a consequence English law (and after 1801, Irish law) also continued to be separate. Exceptions include the Welsh language acts of 1967 and 1993 and also Government of Wales Act 1998, plus Measures of the Welsh Assembly passed since 2006 which apply in Wales but not in England. Wales was brought under a common monarch with England through conquest with the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 and annexed to England for legal purposes by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. However, references in legislation for 'England' were still taken as excluding Wales. The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 meant that in all future laws, 'England' would by default include Wales (and Berwick-upon-Tweed). This was later repealed in 1967 (for Wales, but not for Berwick) and current laws use "England and Wales" to refer to the legal entity.
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