British possession

A British possession, as defined by British acts of parliament, is a country or territory outside the United Kingdom whose head of state is the British monarch, including all the British Overseas Territories, and the Commonwealth realms, but excluding the United Kingdom itself.^: 5 This broad definition is used in legislation interpreted by the Interpretation Act 1978. A narrower conception is used in British admiralty law under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, where a "relevant British possession", includes the Crown Dependencies (the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) and "any colony" (the self-governing British Overseas Territories). A wider conception applies the status of a "British possession" to member states of the Commonwealth of Nations which have a continuing tradition of British law even after they have become republics, and even if those countries no longer recognize themselves as British possessions.