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Is the text of all UK treaties and laws public?

Article II, section 2, clause 2; and listing(s) of relevent treatiesHow can international treaties like TTIP be secret and effective?What type of agreement is the Iran Nuclear Deal considered to be by non-US countries and how does that affect the agreement as a whole?Is the US unusually prone to walking away from signed treaties/accords?How many treaties ratified by Congress did the US exit unilaterally?What's the ratio of treaties ratified by Congress to other forms of international agreements the US is part of?“The Treaties” in article 50 of the Lisbon TreatyCan parties usually withdraw unilaterally from treaties? What's unusual about the binding nature of the “Irish backstop” in the Brexit agreement?Do all EU treaties cease to apply on exit day if no agreement is reached?

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6

Is the text of all UK treaties and laws public?

For example, could an international agreement (treaty) be kept secret from the public?

united-kingdom law treaty

share|improve this question

edited 5 hours ago

Martin Schröder

1,97122 gold badges1414 silver badges3636 bronze badges

asked 10 hours ago

BenBen

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• 
  
  
  

  
  6
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I think the only possible answer to this question is; "we don't know". If it were legal for a law to be kept secret, presumably that principle would be applied to the legislation authorising the secrecy itself.
  
  – Dan Scally
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I suppose you wouldn't know until such a law was broken?
  
  – Ben
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  According to the Wikipedia description of POPS (private ownership of public spaces), pretty much all of the information pertaining to POPS is not released to the public. The laws itself, however, seems to be public.
  
  – CGCampbell
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

6

Is the text of all UK treaties and laws public?

For example, could an international agreement (treaty) be kept secret from the public?

united-kingdom law treaty

share|improve this question

edited 5 hours ago

Martin Schröder

1,97122 gold badges1414 silver badges3636 bronze badges

asked 10 hours ago

BenBen

5,34711 gold badge2424 silver badges6565 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  6
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I think the only possible answer to this question is; "we don't know". If it were legal for a law to be kept secret, presumably that principle would be applied to the legislation authorising the secrecy itself.
  
  – Dan Scally
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  I suppose you wouldn't know until such a law was broken?
  
  – Ben
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  According to the Wikipedia description of POPS (private ownership of public spaces), pretty much all of the information pertaining to POPS is not released to the public. The laws itself, however, seems to be public.
  
  – CGCampbell
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

Is the text of all UK treaties and laws public?

For example, could an international agreement (treaty) be kept secret from the public?

united-kingdom law treaty

share|improve this question

edited 5 hours ago

Martin Schröder

1,97122 gold badges1414 silver badges3636 bronze badges

asked 10 hours ago

BenBen

5,34711 gold badge2424 silver badges6565 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited 5 hours ago

Martin Schröder

1,97122 gold badges1414 silver badges3636 bronze badges

asked 10 hours ago

BenBen

5,34711 gold badge2424 silver badges6565 bronze badges

share|improve this question

edited 5 hours ago

Martin Schröder

1,97122 gold badges1414 silver badges3636 bronze badges

asked 10 hours ago

BenBen

5,34711 gold badge2424 silver badges6565 bronze badges

edited 5 hours ago

Martin Schröder

1,97122 gold badges1414 silver badges3636 bronze badges

edited 5 hours ago

Martin Schröder

1,97122 gold badges1414 silver badges3636 bronze badges

asked 10 hours ago

BenBen

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asked 10 hours ago

BenBen

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2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

9

Laws

As far as I know, all UK laws are "acts of Parliament" which means they are debated in Parliament and these debates are recorded in Hansard. All acts of Parliament are in public records and all those made in the last 200 years are available online.

Anything from 1327 is accessible in the National Archives

Parliament rolls (1327–2005)

Browse Discovery, our catalogue, for enrolled copies of public acts, and a number of private acts, between 1327 and 2005 in C 65. Some of the original documents are in Latin, Anglo-Norman or Medieval French, but texts and translations have been published on the Parliament Rolls website.

---

Treaties

Before 2010

As Wikipedia puts it

the Treaty of London, 1915, was a secret pact between the Triple Entente and the Kingdom of Italy.

Many provisions of the pact were meant to be kept secret, until the conclusion of the war, but were published by the Bolsheviks when they came to power in Russia in late 1917.

So, at least in time of war, it was possible for at least some of the contents of treaties to be kept secret for at least a year or so.

You can see this Declaration between Great Britain, France, Italy and Russia, declaring that the Declaration of the same date engaging not to Conclude a Separate Peace during the course of the European War shall remain secret

Since 2010

According to a UK government website

Since 2010 it is a statutory legal requirement for the government to lay treaties which the UK has signed subject to ratification or its equivalent, or to which it intends to become party by accession, before both Houses of Parliament.

I think this means that secret treaties are either impossible or more difficult.

E.g. See UKUSA released 2010.

share|improve this answer

edited 3 hours ago

answered 8 hours ago

RedGrittyBrickRedGrittyBrick

5,91622 gold badges2020 silver badges3838 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Can I please see all treaties governing the cooperation between NSA and GHCQ?
  
  – Martin Schröder
  5 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Martin - you mean this sort of thing?
  
  – RedGrittyBrick
  3 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Many "laws" (especially in contract law, as opposed to criminal law) are common laws, based on on acts of Parliament, but precedent of previous courts. While these precedents are all public, it may be difficult to get "the text of the law".
  
  – James K
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

4

Yes. There's no such a thing as a secret law in a democracy that follows the rule of law, and secret treaties have been in general decline since the League of Nations. Neither are compatible with the public scrutiny you'd expect in a democracy.

share|improve this answer

answered 10 hours ago

Denis de BernardyDenis de Bernardy

25.5k55 gold badges7272 silver badges103103 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  TTIP (which presumably was a treaty) had secret elements. How does this fit in to your answer?
  
  – Ben
  10 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  7
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Ben Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding was that those elements were only secret during negotiations to allow negotiation without political pressure. Once the final text was agreed upon, then it would become public when it was sent to the Legislature for ratification. So, while the negotiations were secret, the final treaty would not have been.
  
  – divibisan
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @divibisan: I seem to remember that they were accused of negotiating in secret so that there wouldn't be any public scrutiny on what lobbyists were up to until the ship had sailed.
  
  – Denis de Bernardy
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @DenisdeBernardy It's just as much to protect the negotiations from lobbyists: in any negotiation, every side is going to have to make some concessions, but every concession is going to spark protests from a different group of well-funded lobbyists whose only goal is to prevent any concessions that would hurt their industry. In that climate, it would be impossible to actually negotiate anything. By waiting until the whole thing is done to reveal it, the hope is that critics can weight the whole thing together and the industries that are helped will cancel out the ones that might be hurt
  
  – divibisan
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  "It's just as much to protect the negotiations from lobbyists" -- Oh come on, let's get real here. :) Lobbyists have the ear of decision makers a lot more than the public does. And I also recollect leaks coming out of industry groups at the time (and much more rarely, out of activist groups), which suggests that papers were getting funneled to lobbyists a lot more than elsewhere. As to "the hopes is that critics can weigh the whole thing together" that doesn't pass a sniff test if you've ever been near democratic processes in action. The way to get buy-in is to explain along the way.
  
  – Denis de Bernardy
  7 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

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9

Laws

As far as I know, all UK laws are "acts of Parliament" which means they are debated in Parliament and these debates are recorded in Hansard. All acts of Parliament are in public records and all those made in the last 200 years are available online.

Anything from 1327 is accessible in the National Archives

Parliament rolls (1327–2005)

Browse Discovery, our catalogue, for enrolled copies of public acts, and a number of private acts, between 1327 and 2005 in C 65. Some of the original documents are in Latin, Anglo-Norman or Medieval French, but texts and translations have been published on the Parliament Rolls website.

---

Treaties

Before 2010

As Wikipedia puts it

the Treaty of London, 1915, was a secret pact between the Triple Entente and the Kingdom of Italy.

Many provisions of the pact were meant to be kept secret, until the conclusion of the war, but were published by the Bolsheviks when they came to power in Russia in late 1917.

So, at least in time of war, it was possible for at least some of the contents of treaties to be kept secret for at least a year or so.

You can see this Declaration between Great Britain, France, Italy and Russia, declaring that the Declaration of the same date engaging not to Conclude a Separate Peace during the course of the European War shall remain secret

Since 2010

According to a UK government website

Since 2010 it is a statutory legal requirement for the government to lay treaties which the UK has signed subject to ratification or its equivalent, or to which it intends to become party by accession, before both Houses of Parliament.

I think this means that secret treaties are either impossible or more difficult.

E.g. See UKUSA released 2010.

share|improve this answer

edited 3 hours ago

answered 8 hours ago

RedGrittyBrickRedGrittyBrick

5,91622 gold badges2020 silver badges3838 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Can I please see all treaties governing the cooperation between NSA and GHCQ?
  
  – Martin Schröder
  5 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Martin - you mean this sort of thing?
  
  – RedGrittyBrick
  3 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Many "laws" (especially in contract law, as opposed to criminal law) are common laws, based on on acts of Parliament, but precedent of previous courts. While these precedents are all public, it may be difficult to get "the text of the law".
  
  – James K
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

9

Laws

As far as I know, all UK laws are "acts of Parliament" which means they are debated in Parliament and these debates are recorded in Hansard. All acts of Parliament are in public records and all those made in the last 200 years are available online.

Anything from 1327 is accessible in the National Archives

Parliament rolls (1327–2005)

Browse Discovery, our catalogue, for enrolled copies of public acts, and a number of private acts, between 1327 and 2005 in C 65. Some of the original documents are in Latin, Anglo-Norman or Medieval French, but texts and translations have been published on the Parliament Rolls website.

---

Treaties

Before 2010

As Wikipedia puts it

the Treaty of London, 1915, was a secret pact between the Triple Entente and the Kingdom of Italy.

Many provisions of the pact were meant to be kept secret, until the conclusion of the war, but were published by the Bolsheviks when they came to power in Russia in late 1917.

So, at least in time of war, it was possible for at least some of the contents of treaties to be kept secret for at least a year or so.

You can see this Declaration between Great Britain, France, Italy and Russia, declaring that the Declaration of the same date engaging not to Conclude a Separate Peace during the course of the European War shall remain secret

Since 2010

According to a UK government website

Since 2010 it is a statutory legal requirement for the government to lay treaties which the UK has signed subject to ratification or its equivalent, or to which it intends to become party by accession, before both Houses of Parliament.

I think this means that secret treaties are either impossible or more difficult.

E.g. See UKUSA released 2010.

share|improve this answer

edited 3 hours ago

answered 8 hours ago

RedGrittyBrickRedGrittyBrick

5,91622 gold badges2020 silver badges3838 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Can I please see all treaties governing the cooperation between NSA and GHCQ?
  
  – Martin Schröder
  5 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Martin - you mean this sort of thing?
  
  – RedGrittyBrick
  3 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Many "laws" (especially in contract law, as opposed to criminal law) are common laws, based on on acts of Parliament, but precedent of previous courts. While these precedents are all public, it may be difficult to get "the text of the law".
  
  – James K
  3 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

Laws

As far as I know, all UK laws are "acts of Parliament" which means they are debated in Parliament and these debates are recorded in Hansard. All acts of Parliament are in public records and all those made in the last 200 years are available online.

Anything from 1327 is accessible in the National Archives

Parliament rolls (1327–2005)

Browse Discovery, our catalogue, for enrolled copies of public acts, and a number of private acts, between 1327 and 2005 in C 65. Some of the original documents are in Latin, Anglo-Norman or Medieval French, but texts and translations have been published on the Parliament Rolls website.

---

Treaties

Before 2010

As Wikipedia puts it

the Treaty of London, 1915, was a secret pact between the Triple Entente and the Kingdom of Italy.

Many provisions of the pact were meant to be kept secret, until the conclusion of the war, but were published by the Bolsheviks when they came to power in Russia in late 1917.

So, at least in time of war, it was possible for at least some of the contents of treaties to be kept secret for at least a year or so.

You can see this Declaration between Great Britain, France, Italy and Russia, declaring that the Declaration of the same date engaging not to Conclude a Separate Peace during the course of the European War shall remain secret

Since 2010

According to a UK government website

Since 2010 it is a statutory legal requirement for the government to lay treaties which the UK has signed subject to ratification or its equivalent, or to which it intends to become party by accession, before both Houses of Parliament.

I think this means that secret treaties are either impossible or more difficult.

E.g. See UKUSA released 2010.

share|improve this answer

edited 3 hours ago

answered 8 hours ago

RedGrittyBrickRedGrittyBrick

5,91622 gold badges2020 silver badges3838 bronze badges

share|improve this answer

edited 3 hours ago

answered 8 hours ago

RedGrittyBrickRedGrittyBrick

5,91622 gold badges2020 silver badges3838 bronze badges

answered 8 hours ago

RedGrittyBrickRedGrittyBrick

5,91622 gold badges2020 silver badges3838 bronze badges

answered 8 hours ago

RedGrittyBrickRedGrittyBrick

5,91622 gold badges2020 silver badges3838 bronze badges

4

Yes. There's no such a thing as a secret law in a democracy that follows the rule of law, and secret treaties have been in general decline since the League of Nations. Neither are compatible with the public scrutiny you'd expect in a democracy.

share|improve this answer

answered 10 hours ago

Denis de BernardyDenis de Bernardy

25.5k55 gold badges7272 silver badges103103 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  TTIP (which presumably was a treaty) had secret elements. How does this fit in to your answer?
  
  – Ben
  10 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  7
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Ben Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding was that those elements were only secret during negotiations to allow negotiation without political pressure. Once the final text was agreed upon, then it would become public when it was sent to the Legislature for ratification. So, while the negotiations were secret, the final treaty would not have been.
  
  – divibisan
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @divibisan: I seem to remember that they were accused of negotiating in secret so that there wouldn't be any public scrutiny on what lobbyists were up to until the ship had sailed.
  
  – Denis de Bernardy
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @DenisdeBernardy It's just as much to protect the negotiations from lobbyists: in any negotiation, every side is going to have to make some concessions, but every concession is going to spark protests from a different group of well-funded lobbyists whose only goal is to prevent any concessions that would hurt their industry. In that climate, it would be impossible to actually negotiate anything. By waiting until the whole thing is done to reveal it, the hope is that critics can weight the whole thing together and the industries that are helped will cancel out the ones that might be hurt
  
  – divibisan
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  "It's just as much to protect the negotiations from lobbyists" -- Oh come on, let's get real here. :) Lobbyists have the ear of decision makers a lot more than the public does. And I also recollect leaks coming out of industry groups at the time (and much more rarely, out of activist groups), which suggests that papers were getting funneled to lobbyists a lot more than elsewhere. As to "the hopes is that critics can weigh the whole thing together" that doesn't pass a sniff test if you've ever been near democratic processes in action. The way to get buy-in is to explain along the way.
  
  – Denis de Bernardy
  7 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

4

Yes. There's no such a thing as a secret law in a democracy that follows the rule of law, and secret treaties have been in general decline since the League of Nations. Neither are compatible with the public scrutiny you'd expect in a democracy.

share|improve this answer

answered 10 hours ago

Denis de BernardyDenis de Bernardy

25.5k55 gold badges7272 silver badges103103 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  TTIP (which presumably was a treaty) had secret elements. How does this fit in to your answer?
  
  – Ben
  10 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  7
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @Ben Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding was that those elements were only secret during negotiations to allow negotiation without political pressure. Once the final text was agreed upon, then it would become public when it was sent to the Legislature for ratification. So, while the negotiations were secret, the final treaty would not have been.
  
  – divibisan
  10 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @divibisan: I seem to remember that they were accused of negotiating in secret so that there wouldn't be any public scrutiny on what lobbyists were up to until the ship had sailed.
  
  – Denis de Bernardy
  9 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  @DenisdeBernardy It's just as much to protect the negotiations from lobbyists: in any negotiation, every side is going to have to make some concessions, but every concession is going to spark protests from a different group of well-funded lobbyists whose only goal is to prevent any concessions that would hurt their industry. In that climate, it would be impossible to actually negotiate anything. By waiting until the whole thing is done to reveal it, the hope is that critics can weight the whole thing together and the industries that are helped will cancel out the ones that might be hurt
  
  – divibisan
  7 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  "It's just as much to protect the negotiations from lobbyists" -- Oh come on, let's get real here. :) Lobbyists have the ear of decision makers a lot more than the public does. And I also recollect leaks coming out of industry groups at the time (and much more rarely, out of activist groups), which suggests that papers were getting funneled to lobbyists a lot more than elsewhere. As to "the hopes is that critics can weigh the whole thing together" that doesn't pass a sniff test if you've ever been near democratic processes in action. The way to get buy-in is to explain along the way.
  
  – Denis de Bernardy
  7 hours ago
  
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

Yes. There's no such a thing as a secret law in a democracy that follows the rule of law, and secret treaties have been in general decline since the League of Nations. Neither are compatible with the public scrutiny you'd expect in a democracy.

share|improve this answer

answered 10 hours ago

Denis de BernardyDenis de Bernardy

25.5k55 gold badges7272 silver badges103103 bronze badges

share|improve this answer

answered 10 hours ago

Denis de BernardyDenis de Bernardy

25.5k55 gold badges7272 silver badges103103 bronze badges

answered 10 hours ago

Denis de BernardyDenis de Bernardy

25.5k55 gold badges7272 silver badges103103 bronze badges

answered 10 hours ago

Denis de BernardyDenis de Bernardy

25.5k55 gold badges7272 silver badges103103 bronze badges