Politics of the Falkland Islands

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Politics of the Falkland Islands
Constitution Constitution of the Falkland Islands
The Crown Monarch King Charles III
Government Governor Alison Blake Executive Council Chief Executive Andy Keeling Financial secretary Pat Clunie Attorney General Simon Young
Legislature Speaker Keith Biles Constituencies Legislative Council
Judiciary Supreme Court Court of Appeal of the Falkland Islands Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Elections Elections in the Falkland Islands 1949 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1971 1976 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 Next Referendums in the Falkland Islands 1986 2001 2011 2013 2020 By-elections Politicians
Other Sovereignty dispute Outline History
Other countries
v t e

The politics of the Falkland Islands takes place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary representative democratic dependency as set out by the constitution, whereby the Governor exercises the duties of head of state in the absence of the monarch and the Chief Executive is the head of the Civil Service, with an elected Legislative Assembly to propose new laws, national policy, approve finance and hold the executive to account.

The

. No political parties exist on the islands currently and so Members stand as independents, however the governmental and legal proceedings very closely resemble British standards.

Following the

Sovereignty issues

The

.

The sovereignty of the Falklands remains in dispute, with Argentina claiming the islands are an

Executive

Executive authority on the Falkland Islands is vested in Charles III, who has been the head of state since his accession to the British throne on 8 September 2022. As the King is absent from the islands for most of the time, executive authority is exercised "in His Majesty's name and on His Majesty's behalf" by the Governor of the Falkland Islands. Alison Blake has been Governor since 23 July 2022.^[5]

The Governor normally acts only on the advice of the

in the United Kingdom, who can overrule the Governor's actions.

Government policy and the execution thereof is primarily decided by the 3 officio Executive Council MLAs. The Chief Executive leads the civil service and undertakes actions from Executive Council. ^[6]

Legislature

The

) who take part in proceedings but are not permitted to vote in the Assembly.

The following major conventions apply to the Falkland Islands and should be taken into account during the drafting of legislation:^[7]

• European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
• United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
  (UNCRC)
• UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
  (CERD)
• UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Until 2009, when the new constitution came into force and created the Legislative Assembly, the legislature of the islands was the Legislative Council, which had existed since the 19th century.

Judiciary

The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Summary Court and the Magistrates' Court. The judiciary is strictly independent of the executive and legislature, although it has links with the other branches of the government through the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy. The government also employs six lawyers (the Attorney General, Law Commissioner, two Crown Counsels and two Legislative Drafters), a Policy Adviser and one Policy Officer.^{[citation needed]}

Courts

The court system of the Falklands is set out by

with a good amount of judicial experience in the United Kingdom. The CJ is not resident in the Falkland Islands but travels to the islands if and when necessary to hear cases. The most serious criminal and civil matters are reserved for the Supreme Court. In civil matters, generally there is no jury however, in criminal matters, the defendant can elect trial by judge and jury or judge alone. There are only a few criminal cases which must be heard before the Supreme Court; these are murder, manslaughter, rape, piracy, treason and arson with the intent to endanger life. The CJ also hears appeals from the Magistrates' Court.

From the Supreme Court, appeals are sent to the Falkland Islands Court of Appeal, which is based on the

.

The Falkland Islands does not have its own bar or law society, but has a "Falkland Islands Legal Community". There is no differentiation between being a barrister or a solicitor; the private practitioners being called legal practitioners. The Legal Practitioners Ordinance defines who can hold themselves out as being a legal practitioner and therefore have rights of audience before the Falkland Islands courts. Only the Chief Justice of the Falkland Islands can prohibit a legal practitioner from practising.

In the court system on the islands, there is a panel of

. JPs are all non-lawyers and are made up of "upstanding members of the community". They hear the most simple of criminal cases (or sit when the Senior Magistrate is not in the Islands) and they also act as the Licensing Justices who deal with alcohol-related applications, such as extended opening hours, special occasion licences, etc.

The Senior Magistrate (SM) is appointed by the Governor and presides over the Magistrates' Court, which again has no jury. The SM is usually a UK qualified lawyer, with at least 10 years experience as an advocate and, usually, with some judicial experience. The SM holds office for a maximum of three years and is then replaced. The SM is resident in the Islands and hears the majority of cases from simple criminal and civil matters right up to very serious criminal matters or complex civil cases. The SM also hears appeals from the Summary Court.

List of chief justices

• 1987–1997: Sir Renn Davis
• 1998–2007: James Wood
• 2007–2015: Christopher Gardner QC
• 2015–2017: Simon Bryan QC (Sir Simon Bryan)
• 2018–present: James Lewis KC

Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy

The Governor has the power to grant a

(appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Legislative Assembly), the Chief Executive, the Attorney General and the Chief Medical Officer.

Attorney general

The

(AG), appointed by the Governor, is the main legal adviser to the Falkland Islands Government. The AG's primary role is to determine the legality of government proceedings and action, and has the power to institute and undertake criminal proceedings before any court of law, to take over and continue any criminal proceedings that may have been instituted by another person or authority, or to discontinue at any stage before judgment any criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by another person or authority. In the exercise of his or her powers, the AG is not subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

The Attorney General is also a member of the

during Speaker elections in the Legislative Assembly, and has a constitutional right to attend all meetings of the Assembly and all meetings of the Executive Council.

The current Attorney General is Simon Young, who took office in December 2017.^[8]

Finances

The Director of Finance of the Falkland Islands is responsible for government expenditure on the islands, acting with authorisation from the Legislative Assembly. The Director is also an ex officio member of both the Legislative Assembly and the Executive Council.

There is also a Public Accounts Committee consisting of a chairman and two other members appointed by the Governor (in consultation with the elected MLAs) and two elected members of the Legislative Assembly. Reporting to the Legislative Assembly, the Committee overseas the economy, government expenditure, all public accounts and audit reports on the islands. The Director of Finance is not permitted to be a member of the Public Accounts Committee.

Elections and parties

As in many

).

In the

will take place in 2025.

See also

• Falkland Islands Gazette – official journal of the Falkland Islands Government

References and sources

References

Sources

• L.L. Ivanov et al..
  ISBN 954-91503-1-3

External links

• "Falkland Islands Government Website". falklands.gov.fk. Archived from the original on 11 December 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
• "Falkland Islands (British Overseas Territory)".
  Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Archived from the original
  on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
• "The Falkland Islands Constitution Order 2008" (PDF). falklands.gov.fk. 1 January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
• "Falkland Islands info". falklands.info. Archived from the original on 2 May 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
• "World Statesmen - Falkland Islands". worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 15 June 2010.