[nickweb]

You know. I deal with laws on an almost daily basis in the UK and never noticed or payed attention to this. Current legislation has the Calder year, but also a “Chapter” Marker, i.e. Road Traffic Act 1988, has under this title 1988 CHAPTER 52.

Reading [1] I’ve learned that “Until 1963, Sessions of Parliament were numbered according to the year of the monarch's reign. In each Session, the Acts passed were given chapter numbers. For example, the Universities Act 1825 was Chapter 97 for the year 1825, which was the 6th year of George IV's reign. You may therefore see it referred to as: 6 Geo. 4 c. 97 (year - monarch - chapter). … Since 1963 a much simpler system has operated. Acts are now referred to simply by their calendar year and chapter number. For example, the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 is 1969 c. 54.”

The more you know!

[1] http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/acts/index.html