British Overseas Territories Law

This is a manual of law and practice relating to the 14 remaining British overseas territories: Anguilla; Bermuda; British Antarctic Territory; British Indian Ocean Territory; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands; Gibraltar; Montserrat; Pitcairn Islands; St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands; Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus; Turks and Caicos Islands; and Virgin Islands. Most, if not all, of these territories are likely to remain British for the foreseeable future, and many have agreed modern constitutional arrangements with the British Government. This book provides a comprehensive description of the main elements of their governance in law and practice, and of the constitutional and international status of the territories. It describes their constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom, and goes on to deal with legislative, executive and judicial authority and controls, their sources of law and human rights protection in the territories. It considers the Offices of the Governor and the Law Officers of the Territories. It analyses defence, security and emergency powers in the territories; the nationality and status of people 'belonging' to them; their public finance arrangements; their relationship with the European Union; and the conduct of their external relations. It examines the position of the territories under international law, including their relationship with the United Kingdom in that context and the United Kingdom's international responsibility for them, and contains a description of the means of terminating British sovereignty over them. An Annex sets out key features of each territory in turn, describing briefly its history, status, constitutional structure, courts, law, economy and, in some cases, regional integration.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction The British Overseas Territories Dependent Territories Colonies Her Majesty's Dominions British Possessions The United Kingdom The British Islands The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man Protectorates, Protected States and Associated States Means of Acquisition of the Territories Colonial Boundaries Commonwealth Membership The Territories' Constitutional Arrangements The Laws of the Territories Human Rights Protection Defence and Security The Nationality of the Territories' Inhabitants Public Finance The Territories in International Law The Territories and the European Union The Termination of British Sovereignty 2. Constitutional Arrangements The Legal Basis for the Territories' Constitutions The Constitutional Relationship Between the Territories and the United Kingdom Constitutional Amendment and Review 3. The Office of Governor The Title of the Office The Position and Status of Governor The Authority of the Office of Governor Instructions to a Governor Colonial Regulations Executive Functions of a Governor Functions of a Governor in the Legislative Field Emergency Powers Functions of a Governor in the Judicial Field Acting Governors Governors' Deputies Oaths or Affirmations to be Taken by Governors Legal Liability of Governors Petitions The Office of Deputy Governor Governor's Staff 4. Legislative Authority and Controls Legislative Authorities in the United Kingdom Legislative Authorities in the Overseas Territories Scope of Local Legislative Authority Executive Controls on Locally-enacted Legislation Judicial Controls 5. Executive Authority and Controls Executive Government in the Territories Controls Over Executive Government The Public Service 6. Judicial Authority Legal Basis for the Establishment of Courts The Courts of the Overseas Territories Judicial Service Commissions Judicial Appointments Judicial Security of Tenure Judicial Independence Generally 7. The Law Officers The Role of the Attorney General Appointment and Security of Tenure Constitutional Independence Director of Public Prosecutions 8. Sources of Law Statute Law Common Law and Rules of Equity Judicial Decisions Existing Laws Provisions in Constitution Orders 9. Human Rights in the Territories Constitutional Human Rights Provisions Derogation from Fundamental Rights and Freedoms Under Emergency Powers Detention Under Emergency Laws Enforcement of Protective Provisions Human Rights Commissions Complaints Commissioners International Human Rights Instruments and The Overseas Territories 10. Defence, Public Order and Security, and Emergency Powers Defence Public Order and Security Emergency Powers 11. Nationality and Belonger Status Nationality Belonger Status 12. Public Finance Constitutional Responsibility Revenue Consolidated Fund and other Funds Expenditure Borrowing and Lending Audit Public Accounts Committees Assistance to the Territories Financial Liability 13. External Relations Constitutional Responsibility General Entrustments Legislative Action and Controls Consular Relations and External Representation Extradition Appendix 1 Appendix 2 14. The Territories in International Law The Charter of the United Nations Self-determination Treaties Entrustments Agreements Between Territories or Between a Territory and The United Kingdom Maritime Areas and Airspace Sovereignty Claims 15. The Territories and the European Union The Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty on European Union The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy The Euratom Treaty 16. Termination of British Sovereignty Independence Transfer of Territory Shared Sovereignty Annex Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004 Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands St Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Turks and Caicos Islands Virgin Islands

About the Author :
Ian Hendry is a Constitutional Adviser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a former Deputy Legal Adviser there. Susan Dickson is a Legal Counsellor at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Review :
The authors are perfectly positioned to write a study dedicated to the British overseas territories in the post-colonial world as they played a central role in negotiating the new constitutions (which are, legally speaking, Her Majesty's Orders in Council) for a great number of the exotic places they now write about. ...it is... reliable and comprehensive; exactly what one would expect of a practitioners book, which is what the authors aimed at writing. Buy this book before it is out of stock -- Dimitry Kochenov Common Market Law Review, Volume 49, 5 Ian Hendry and Susan Dickson's book on British Overseas Territories Law is a welcome and comprehensive review of the law in this area. It is a manual of law and practice, well organised and clearly written, dealing with a wide range of issues including sources of law, constitutional arrangements, relationships between the executive, judiciary and legislature, human rights protection, nationality and status, as well as the territories' status in international and EU law...And with a nod to Roberts-Wray, the book includes a very useful annex describing the arrangements in each specific territory. Already regarded by some as the definitive authority, I am grateful to the authors for their efforts and ability to provide what I have no doubt is the essential text for those who have an interest in this area. -- Lorna Drummond QC Journal of the Law Society of Scotland The authors are legal advisers at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Offices and are probably among a very small number of persons now capable of producing a work of this nature. They should be congratulated for doing so. The fruits of their endeavours easily matches the standards set by any of their predecessors. ...the inherent quality of the work will ensure that this book will be an invaluable resource for students, practitioners and academics for many decades to come. -- Thomas Mohr Irish Jurist