MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Historic: Falklands Council agrees on draft constitution

Self determination has been included in the first chapter of the draft

AFTER eight years of debate, consultation and careful consideration, history was made on Friday in the Falkland Islands when elected members agreed that the draft Constitution should be formally submitted to Her Majesty's Government.

At a special meeting of Legislative Council, seven of the eight elected members - Councillor Richard Cockwell was unable to attend due to ill health - debated the draft Constitution chapter by chapter with live radio coverage. Chairman of the Select Committee, Councillor Mike Summers said the opportunity after years of deliberation, to recommend to Her Majesty's Government a new Constitution for the Falklands was an historic day in the life of the Council and the Government. "The Constitution is a fundamentally important document which forms the basis of all subsidiary legislation and sets out the rights and freedoms of individuals and forms the basis on which the community organizes itself and its social laws and practices," he said. It also describes the relationship between the Falkland Islands Government and the United Kingdom Government and for the Falklands as a non-self governing Overseas Territory, it sets out the extent to which it responds to the UK as the parent state, he explained, adding that he believed it to be a document that is, "suitable for the current governance of the Islands." Self determination in Chapter One The fact that the references to self determination have been included in Chapter One, with the agreement of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, rather than the preamble is fundamentally important and a, "significant move forward," said Councillor Summers. An issue that was the subject of much discussion during the public consultation period was a grandfather clause which allows for anybody who has Status before January 1, 2009 to retain that Status absolutely, even though prior to that date it was conditional. Councillor Summers said he did not regard it as acceptable that Status should become unconditional, because in the new Constitution similar Status remains conditional. "It makes no sense at all to turn conditional status into unconditional status for one group of people and to make it conditional for another," he said. "I am not sure if the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have misunderstood the issue or if they are trying to meddle in what is an immigration issue. It is not a human rights issue because the human rights of those people are already conditioned under the Constitution," he added. It was his recommendation that the issue was referred back to the FCO to be redrafted according to the policy intentions of the Select Committee on the Constitution. In addition, he said, there was a clause that position needed to be reserved on in that, where a British Overseas Territory citizen has been naturalized and has the right to apply for Status - where that Status is refused, the FCO revised draft now gives them the permanent right to remain. This was not discussed or included in negotiations between the Select Committee and the FCO and should be held back on until the whole section can be resolved, he said. Councillor Andrea Clausen agreed with his comments and said if HMG insisted on the grandfather clause the only logical response she could support would be to provide for all Status to be irrevocable. Councillor Janet Robertson as a member of the Immigration Working Group said she was pleased with many of the provisions which help to enhance the privilege of Status providing greater rules to achieve it and the extent of loyalty and commitment which has to be shown before the privilege is granted. Supporting Cllr Summers suggestions she said she was pleased that Status was no longer acquired through marriage as the Council felt it was a short-cut which undermined the meaning and privilege of Status. There was unanimous support that Chapter One, the Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual be included with reservations on the issues discussed. Legislative AssemblyWithin the draft Constitution, Legislative Council is to be changed to the Legislative Assembly. Cllr Clausen commented that while the change of a name may seem inconsequential she thought that it would help in terms of the Islands international face, "if not the national face." Councillor Summers said the change of name represents another piece of progress in the evolution of Democratic Government in the Falklands. Provision is made for a Deputy Speaker and transitional arrangements for the opening of the new assembly. The Governor no longer approves the Standing Rules and Orders of the House, a provision which was considered to be no longer appropriate as he does not chair Legislative Council as in the past. Another new provision is that the Governor must inform Executive Council and allow Members to express their views before exercising his reserve powers to pass laws by the Assembly. Councillor Summers said it was a key issue that there is an essential change in the way in which Government and Executive Council interact: "The key change is that on matters of governance in the Falklands the Governor must now consult the Executive Council and accept the advice of Executive Council except in certain specified circumstances." Constituency representationA lengthy debate took place regarding constituency boundaries and representation with the two thirds majority referendum for both Stanley and Camp required to support any change coming under fire. Stanley representative Cllr Clausen said she was unable to support a threshold that she considered to be "heavily skewed" in favour of the minority group. "In order to arrive at proposals for change to either representation or boundaries, I believe that there should be an independent body created that takes into account a wide range of factors so that changes, in particular to balance of representation, is not just a numbers game." Cllr Birmingham agreed saying there was clearly an imbalance of representation and although he very much supported a referendum he did not support that there would have to be at least two thirds in agreement for any changes. Camp Councillor Richard Stevens' view differed: He said such a protection clause should be in the constitution that it is important and protects the interests of the minority, given that political institutions in Stanley are getting stronger. "The Chamber of Commerce, even with a large farm membership, challenges the support the Government gives the rural community". Fellow Camp Councillor, Ian Hansen supported his sentiments adding that while minorities should not be able to hold sway, they should also not be "battered into submission simply by changing the goal posts because things didn't go the way people wanted in the past." He added that when Council had sat in Select Committee he had thought it has been agreed to keep the two thirds majority within the Constitution. Councillor Mike Rendell said he agreed with the clause as it stood: "It should be in the power of the people in the Falklands to change it, not us sitting around this table". Councillor Summers proposed that they should proceed with the section as part of the Constitution, but note the reservations the Honourable Members have about the threshold and how it would operate and refer that for further discussion so as not to hold up the whole of the constitutional process. The effect of that would be that the issues of constituencies and representation could be discussed in the public arena, but if it was felt necessary to go back at some point and change the threshold, that could be done. Immediate discussionHe said there was nothing to stop the discussion commencing immediately and it was his anticipation that it would run up to and through the next election because it is a matter of such importance to a wide number of people. This was supported by all Councillors as were the remaining Chapters. Winding up the meeting Councillor Summers said he thought the Draft reflected the wishes of the people of the Falklands as the document to oversee the relationship with the UK for the next few years. He thanked all those members of the public who had contributed in the process and in particular the former Attorney General who put in a lot of work on many issues as well as the current Attorney General and Acting Attorney General who made contributions over the years and members of the Council from 2000 onwards. The final proposals for changes with a copy of the transcript of the LegCo debate will now be presented to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Meg Munn. Cllr Summers said that given the season (party conferences, etc.) it may not get to the October Privy Council, in which case it will be November, however, the timetable for completion and effective date of January 1, 2009 remains intact. (Penguin News).-