MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New constitution for St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

The three islands are located in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.

Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant welcomed on Thursday the new St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009, which among other things includes a Bill of Rights, better defines the role of the Governor and has separate chapters for each of the three islands.

“I welcome the new Constitution for St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. I am pleased to see that there has been so much public discussion about the Constitution over a number of years. The UK and the Councils on the three islands have worked together openly and constructively to ensure that the new Constitution will serve those islands well in the future”, said the FO minister.

The Constitution Order 2009 was made on July 8th by Queen Elizabeth II and the Privy Council and is expected to come into operation next autumn.

Minister Bryant pointed out that the previous Constitution from 1988 reflects a very different world “while the new Constitution, on the other hand, is one fit for the 21st Century. For the first time it includes a Bill of Rights; it is also clearer on the role of the Governor, introducing a number of important limits on Governor's powers; and there will be separate chapters for each of the three islands allowing for institutions that really suit the islands they serve”.

“This is good news for all those who live on St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and I look forward to working with them under these new arrangements. It represents the kind of modern partnership that we aim for with all of our Overseas Territories.

The new Constitution makes changes in all of these respects, it recognises legal change that has gone on the islands and elsewhere since, and reflects the reality of changes that have taken place in practice. A Bill of Rights will mean that individuals wanting to make a complaint will now be able to do so in the local courts, and not have to go to Strasbourg.

The Constitution also establishes true independence for the judiciary and the public service and a new set of provisions on financial issues will ensure greater transparency, accountability, and independent audit.

The new constitution is based on the 1999 White Paper on the Overseas Territories committed the UK to review constitutional frameworks for the territories to ensure consistency with the principles that underlie the modern partnerships between Britain and the OTs.

Intensive consultation on a new Constitution on St Helena began in 2003 and a number of rounds of negotiations and public consultations have taken place since then. The Ascension and Tristan Councils wrote in support of the new Constitution at the end of June 2009; and the majority of the St Helena Legislative Councillors have expressed their support for it.