London – Thomson Reuters is pleased to announce that its Westlaw UK solution is to help form the nucleus of an authoritative online guide to Welsh law which will assist lawyers, businesses and the public to better understand devolved law in Wales.

The new bilingual service, Cyfraith Cymru / Law Wales, has been spearheaded by the Counsel General for Wales, Theodore Huckle QC, working with the legal business of Thomson Reuters. It intends to raise awareness of the growing body of Welsh law being passed by the National Assembly for Wales and made by the Welsh Ministers.

A free to use online service, Cyfraith Cymru / Law Wales provides explanatory narrative and commentary on all areas of law devolved to Wales. It will assist the public and lawyers to understand devolved law so that they can better conduct their business and their daily lives.

The launch of the new service follows the Government of Wales Act 2006 which enabled the Welsh Government to bring forward its own programme of legislation in the 20 areas devolved to Wales. These include key areas of public life such as health, education and the environment.

“With more and more laws being passed affecting only Wales, it’s absolutely vital that people here and beyond understand the growing changes in areas like health, education and housing, to name but a few,” said Counsel General Theodore Huckle QC.

“The Law Wales website is designed not only to raise citizens’ awareness of the ways in which these new laws affect their everyday lives, but also the system under which they are developed, scrutinised, and passed.

“I’m delighted that through our work with the Westlaw UK team at Thomson Reuters, the site will be further developed to include rich, in-depth content and analysis aimed at those working in the legal system in Wales.”

The editorial team at Thomson Reuters was led by Daniel Greenberg, barrister and general editor of the Westlaw UK Insight service. Working with the Welsh Government, the editorial team identified expert commentary and insight from Westlaw UK for inclusion in the new service. This up-to-date content is provided free of charge and further articles and updates will be contributed over time to enable the Welsh government to add to and build out the service.

“I’m extremely pleased to see the new service get off to such a strong start and I’m delighted that Thomson Reuters was there to support it from the outset,” said Jan-Coos Geesink, managing director for the UK&I legal business of Thomson Reuters. “Thomson Reuters has been at the forefront of combining access to devolved legislation with other highly valued information through its products and services such as Westlaw UK. It is this knowledge and experience that makes us a natural partner for initiatives such as Law Wales. I look forward to seeing the new service grow over time and I expect it to become a vital asset for citizens and legal practitioners alike.”

The launch of Cyfraith Cymru/Law Wales is to be held in the Senedd, Cardiff Bay at 12pm on 14 July 2015.

To learn more about the new service, please visit: gov.wales/lawwales and llyw.cymru/cyfraithcymru

Westlaw UK is the only service that consolidates all primary and secondary legislation for the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its legislation analysis documents are written specifically for online legal research and include links to all the related content across Westlaw UK. It provides easily searchable databases of case law, legislation, news, legal journals, commentary, current awareness alerts and EU legal materials. In 2014, Thomson Reuters made Welsh-language versions of cases available on Westlaw UK. To learn more, visit: http://legalresearch.westlaw.co.uk/

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