Further separation of legal powers between Wales and England is inevitable, leading Welsh academics have told the Gazette, as the Welsh Assembly prepares to launch a year-long consultation on creating a separate legal jurisdiction.

They say the devolution process, accelerated by this year’s referendum vote in favour of more control over education, health and social care policy, has exposed anomalies in the current legal system.

Emyr Lewis, senior partner at south-west firm Morgan Cole and a senior fellow in Welsh law at the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, said: ‘At some point there is going to be a tipping point if nothing is done formally. It just doesn’t make sense not to do anything because of the degree of difference between the law in Wales and England.’

He said the creation of new Welsh laws, such as the proposed ban on smacking children, leaves ambiguity and confusion for English visitors, not to mention the extra training needed for practitioners.

Huw Williams, recently appointed to the Welsh government’s planning advisory group and vice-chair at regional firm Geldards, said the assembly’s consultation was a significant step towards separation.

‘You could argue that this should have happened a lot earlier when devolution happened in 1998,’ he said. ‘The fact is we’re inevitably moving towards a separate body of law for Wales and there is a need to address the implications.’

A recent opinion poll found a small majority of the Welsh public in favour of a distinct jurisdiction, although assembly members from both the two main UK parties have expressed reservations about radical change.

Marie Navarro, research associate at Cardiff Law School and editor of Wales Legislation Online, said there was enthusiasm from politicians for devolution of the criminal justice system but perhaps not for the funding and administration of separate court systems.

‘As a constitutional lawyer I find it natural that, now Wales has the power to make laws, it wants the power to interpret and apply the law in Wales,’ she said.