Transparency

There is an interesting editorial on TCI Journal about our right to information.  It is so applicable to us that I invite you to read it, changing the names Turks and Caicos to Anguilla and Mark Capes to Stanley Reid wherever they occur.  This is what they wrote:

        One of the most remarkable and awe-inspiring things we have come to note here at the Journal is the depth of passion present and the significant size of the normally quiet population that yearns to make the Turks and Caicos a better place. 

        As more and more of our citizens and residents engage in thinking through the various issues confronting our society, we are certain that the inevitable triumph of sanity over insanity is assured. 

        However, the civil service and the interim administration must engage the public in a better way if we are to quicken the pace of positive progress. 

        At the moment, seeking information from statutory bodies or government agencies is a hit and miss proposition.  “Trust Us” is often the refrain from entrenched management.  Getting information beyond shallow press releases is most difficult.  MONTHS pass sometimes and tremendous physical and emotional energy must be consistently expended in order to access information that should be readily and easily available.  When facts are so hard to access, is it any wonder that rumours and propaganda have such free reign in the TCI? 

        A freedom of information policy is a must and should be mandated by the interim government and not left to individual managers, board members, ministries or statutory bodies.

        This task we put at the feet of Mark Capes, the current CEO of the TCI.  In a positive spirit of co-operation, we challenge him to work with the public and shepherd through the bureaucracy a first iteration of a freedom of information policy that has real meaning and not one that is simply aspirational. 

        It would be tragic if the interim government should happen to underestimate the value of having an informed public that possess facts and that can readily put to bed the rumours and propaganda spread by those that constantly seek to destabilize daily life in the TCI. 

       Reassigning one person in each ministry and each statutory body to provide the public with requested information would be an invaluable aspect and a key step in the restructuring and the “re-sizing” of the civil service, and would be nothing less than a life-saving breath of fresh ocean air for civil society here in the TCI. 

       An abstract right to information is totally meaningless if not exercisable.

Respectfully,

Editors@TCIJournal.com

Abuse of Office

The power of public office must never be used to promote private interests. Though no money changes hands, the misuse of public office to promote private interests is one of the most insidious forms of corruption in public office that exists. 

It has been said that most men enter national politics for only three reasons: love of money, hope for increased sexual opportunities, and the enjoyment of power. These three primal forces are not necessarily evil in themselves. They may even work on occasion for the public good. They may also be misused, and be corrupting influences. What I have to write today involves an alleged case of the use of public power to promote a private interest. You will decide if it is corrupt.

As I am presently in St Lucia for the funeral of the late Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Sir Vincent Floissac PC CMG QC LLM, I have not been in Anguilla to hear for myself. However, I have received an email describing a recent development that affects the rule of law and a possible attack on it by the head of the Executive branch of government in Anguilla.

Many years ago, I had a professional involvement in the matter in question and have some personal knowledge about it. There are some serious issues of principle that arise in these recent developments. Assuming what I have heard to be essentially correct, I am forced to write about it.

In about the year 1982, the late Dr William V Herbert and I represented two contending families in a land dispute in the High Court. I represented one family and Dr Herbert represented the others. The land in question was situated in Long Bay Village in Anguilla.

Before the trial began Dr Herbert was appointed by the government of Dr Kennedy Simmonds to represent the newly independent Federation of St Kitts and Nevis at the UN and the OAS. He was no longer able to appear in the High Court to represent parties in litigation. The members of the family that had retained him were instructed to find another attorney to appear for them in court.

On the day set for the trial in the High Court, Mr Hubert Hughes, then out of the Assembly and out of government, appeared in court. He told the trial Judge that he had been requested to speak for the family. He asked the Judge to permit him to speak and to put questions to the witnesses. The Judge told him and the family that it would be safer for them to retain an attorney. She adjourned the case for a few days to give them a chance to find a new lawyer.

When the trial of the matter resumed, the family appeared again with Mr Hubert Hughes. They insisted that they wanted him to represent them at the trial. The Judge sought my view. I said I had no objection to his cross-examining my witnesses, but that the family would clearly be better off with an attorney especially as this was a complicated land dispute. The family persisted in requesting that Mr Hughes represent them in the matter.

The trial proceeded, and the result was that the judge declared that the family represented by Mr Hughes was not the owner of the land, but the opposing family was.

The losing family appealed to the Court of Appeal and subsequently to the Privy Council, in both of which they lost. Both they and my clients were by this time represented by other attorneys. The losing family subsequently had an attorney file one or more new cases attempting to re-litigate the issues. These cases were all dismissed. The family that succeeded are registered in the Land Registry with title absolute to the lands in dispute.

The family represented by Mr Hughes has never accepted the finality of the judgment of the court. They have continued to file case after case in the High Court. They have done everything in their power to obstruct the successful family from enjoying the fruits of their judgment. There have been violent demonstrations at Long Bay Village. Cutlasses have been waved in the air. Threats of death have been issued. Road construction and land development have been physically blocked. Tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs have been wasted.

Mr Hughes is now, as of early this year, back in office as Chief Minister of Anguilla. His Minister of Lands is from the West End and Long Bay area. The Minister has reportedly admitted in a news broadcast that he is “an interested party”.

I now hear from my correspondent that the Registrar of Lands of Anguilla has recently been the object of abuse by both the losing family and the Hon Chief Minister. The Chief Minister is said to have been on the radio yesterday chastising the Registrar of Lands for her conduct in relation to the performance of her duties in the Land Registry. Those duties may be related to the registered title to the land in question. It is not clear, but she would appear to have been trying to act in conformity with the Order of the Court. The losing family may have been attempting to coerce her to act contrary to the Order of the Court. She may have been refusing to do so. According to my informant, the Hon Chief Minister has now told the Registrar that she must recuse herself from further dealing with the matter as she is not competent.

I am also told that the Chief Minister has made a public statement, broadcast on radio yesterday and today, describing the original court decision as a “tapestry of justice”, and that the Supreme Court itself must be investigated.

As any one of my A-Level law students can tell you, there are three branches of government: the legislature which makes laws, the executive which makes and administers government policy, and the judiciary which adjudicates on disputes between citizen and the state and citizen and citizen. None of these branches is permitted to infringe on the jurisdiction of the other. This is called the doctrine of the separation of powers. In modern political thinking this doctrine is considered a cornerstone of democracy and essential for the protection of our civil rights.

The only branch of government which is regularly investigated is the judiciary. Every decision of a judge is subject to investigation. This is called an appeal. Even the appeal is subject to further investigation. In this instant case the judge's decision was investigated by the Court of Appeal. After investigation, the decision of the High Court in favour of the winning family was approved by the Court of Appeal. The decision of the Court of Appeal was further investigated by the Privy Council. The decision of the Court of Appeal was approved by the Privy Council. There have already been repeated investigations of this decision of the High Court. It is an impertinence to suggest that some other investigation is called for. The same cannot be said for most decisions of the executive branch of government.

Under our system of government public servants are supposed to be insulated from political pressure. This rule of non-political interference in the administration exists for the protection of the average citizen, who may otherwise be subject to victimisation. I cannot understand how a Minister of Government could put pressure on a Registrar of Lands in Anguilla to recuse herself from performing her administrative duties. Such a development would signify a low point in the government of our island. I sincerely hope that our Chief Minister would never act unconstitutionally to instruct some other public servant to intervene and to change the registered titles to these areas of land.

It would be worrying if the Governor and Deputy Governor were to be seen to permit a Minister of Government to harass a senior public servant in the performance of her duties. This is particularly so if she had been refusing to countenance the flouting of a longstanding and repeatedly upheld Order of the Court. Will they rise publicly and vociferously to the defence of the Registrar of Lands in this matter? We are not holding our breath, only bating it.

I can only hope that I have been misinformed. It would be bad enough if a Chief Minister were to be seen to be encouraging citizens to act in an illegal manner. It would be a vicious blow against the principle of the Separation of Powers if a Chief Minister were to be thought to be encouraging a flouting of an Order of a Court. It would be destructive of the Rule of Law for any Chief Minister or Prime Minister to be known to be disparaging the integrity of the Supreme Court itself. More damaging, we in Anguilla would be demonstrating unfitness for any extension of the powers of internal self-government, as we have been demanding.

Who would be obliged to pay the substantial damages and costs that may eventually be awarded against the government if this fiasco is not brought to an immediate end? We the people, of course.

A final question that we the members of the public might ask is, if these fears are justified, what, if anything, would the Anguilla Bar Association be prepared to do to defend the integrity and independence of our judicial branch of government, and to uphold the finality of an Order of the Court from an attack by a Minister of Government?

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Montserrat 11

Having the Constitution give absolute and dictatorial powers to one man is the opposite of providing for good governance.  A read of the draft Constitution reveals an intention to give the Governor almost total power over the administration.  He is controlled only by secret and unaccountable instructions from the FCO.  This secrecy and lack of accountability are then multiplied by giving him associated discretionary powers. 

The result is an anti-democratic Constitution.  The system it sets up is not conducive to good governance.  It is the polar opposite of integrity, accountability and transparency.  In particular,

(a) The section 21 use of his discretionary and reserve powers is not subject to democratic accountability.  The draft Constitution should be amended to provide that, except where otherwise instructed by the Secretary of State, he ought first to consult the Cabinet and be subject to review by the High Court in the exercise of his discretionary and reserve powers;

(b) Integrity, accountability and transparency require that the section 26 power to dispose of Crown Land should be subject to a resolution of the Legislature;

(c) The section 28 power of pardon should be exercised on the advice of a Mercy Committee;

(d) The section 87 power to grant or withhold pensions, gratuities and allowances ought to be exercised on the advice of the Public Service Commission;

(e) The section 100 power to appoint the Auditor General is exercised after consultation with the Public Accounts Committee.  Greater accountability and transparency would be achieved if this were to be done after consultation with the Public Service Commission and the Integrity Commission;

(f) Extraordinarily for the twenty-first century, the Governor will retain the power to amend or to disallow a law passed by the Legislature without any reference back to the Legislature.  

Montserrat 2

In my view it is shameful what the FCO are doing to the Montserratian people:  We are going to spend the next couple of posts looking at the new draft Constitution 2010 that the FCO is proposing to implement for Montserrat. 

I have come to the conclusion that the draft is bereft of any sign of an interest in good governance on the part of the FCO.  It is devoid of any of the principles of integrity, accountability or transparency, as I shall attempt to show.  These principles are routinely touted by the same FCO as the three pillars of good governance.  The draft Constitution of Montserrat has missed the opportunity to contribute to this movement.

The concentrating of power in the Governor’s hands, as proposed by this draft Constitution, tends towards arbitrary, one-man rule.  It may be true that a good governor is better than a bad local Cabinet.  We cannot be confident that our Governors will always be good.  Experience, especially in the case of Montserrat, teaches otherwise. 

A new Constitution should rather be trying to develop local democratic institutions that will involve the people in their own governance.  It is preferable that the Constitution should encourage responsible government in the Overseas Territory, rather than destroying it.  Responsible government is a better guarantee of democracy, justice, and fairness in government than one-man rule.  The draft Constitution provides for absolute power to be concentrated in one person, subject only to the oversight of the Secretary of State far away in London. 

In this respect the draft Constitution increases the deficit of democracy in Montserrat.

TCI 8

In this post we conclude my preliminary thoughts on Kate Sullivan's Initial Recommendations for Changes to the Constitutional and Electoral Arrangements in the Turks and Caicos Islands?  If you have not read her paper I urge you to do so by clicking on the link above.  I have dealt with the earlier portions of her Recommendations over the past seven posts.  I end with these final but preliminary thoughts:

[16]      Recommendations 36 and 37 retain the power of the Governor to deal in Crown Lands.  We know what that has meant in the past when there have been weak Governors and Attorneys-General.  The Governor has allowed ministers of government secretly to misuse Crown Lands for their own and their families' profit. 

The proper reform is to have the Constitution require any dealing in Crown Land to be approved by the House of Assembly.  Let the government answer to the public for any proposed dealing in Crown Land.  This is not a proper province for either the mandarins in Whitehall or for the Governor in Government House. 

We need the disinfecting influences of openness, transparency and fresh air.  We do not need to maintain a system that has shown itself to be a failure in the past.

[17]      There are many other Recommendations in this Report that we can all appreciate and approve of, particularly the provisions for Watchdog Institutions.  One complaint would be that they are not complete and others are missing. 

For example, the Constitution makes no provision for a Tenders Board, with security of tenure and guarantees for its independence. 

Similarly, the Constitution makes no provision for a Public Accounts Committee. 

For democratic principles to begin to flourish in what has clearly become a failed kleptomanic state, institutions such as these are essential.  No dictatorship by a foreign Governor can be an acceptable substitute for the nurturing and encouragement of local democratic institutions.

[18]      There are several other recommendations that one might legitimately have strong views on.  There are other obvious and timely recommendations that could and should have been made but that are missing.  We in the Overseas Territories need to act swiftly to discuss them on a variety of forums. 

Our concern should be transparent and obvious.  It is that if these recommendations are permitted to find their way into the TCI Constitution, it will not be long before there is pressure for them to be introduced into ours, for consistency and administrative convenience.  However, this paper is long enough for all but the very patient to be able to read, and I propose to stop writing here.

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TCI 7

We are proceeding to examine Kate Sullivan's Initial recommendations for Changes to Constitutional and Electoral Arrangements in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  We have in previous posts dealt in fourteen numbered paragraphs with some of my concerns at earlier portions of her Recommendations.  We now continue:

[15]      Recommendation 31 proposes to completely emasculate the Public Service Commission and give it a completely vacuous and useless role.  The TCI has at present one of the most advanced and democratic provisions in its Constitution for the governance of the public service.  A Commission of locals appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of various stake-holders makes the decisions about appointments and conditions of service of public servants.  The Governor is required to implement their recommendations.  That is as it should be. 

If the system in TCI is not working, of which there is no suggestion, then the members of the Commission need to be trained in their proper functioning, not have the country deprived of the institution. 

It is essential that the FCO recognise that its mandate is to develop and to improve the local institutions of self-government so as to help the people of the Overseas Territories to learn the proper rules of government and how to avoid cronyism, conflicts of interest, and nepotism. 

Putting appointments in the hands of an FCO functionary, advised behind the scenes by those cronies that he and his superiors select, is not an acceptable alternative.

To be continued …

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TCI 6

We continue to look at Kate Sullivan's initial recommendations for Changes to the Constitutional and Electoral Arrangements in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  We have previously dealt in thirteen numbered paragraphs with some of the first 25 Recommendations.

[14]      Recommendation 26 is headed in the wrong direction.  It proposes keeping the Governor's old colonial powers unilaterally to make a law for the TCI without that law having been passed by the House of Assembly.  It goes further and widens his power unilaterally to legislate for the islands “to ensure compliance with the Governance Principles.”  A more objectionable provision it would be difficult to imagine. 

There is no question of either the Governor or the FCO needing such a draconian provision in TCI or in any other of the BOTs.  In this day of instant communication the FCO is well informed about all proposals to introduce legislation in good time to make interventions to ensure that Britain's contingent liabilities are not put at risk. 

In the event that a Government should introduce a new legislative provision that has not passed through Cabinet and had the benefit of the Attorney-General's and the Governor's advice, there are ample powers to pressure the Government to revise the measure.  This was proved recently in Montserrat when the Assembly passed a legislator's pensions provision that was wildly in excess of the provision that had been approved by the Cabinet.  The government of the day was embarrassed into passing through the House of Assembly an amendment immediately thereafter to go back to the original approved provision. 

To remove the power of the legislators to legislate is to destroy democracy itself.  A constitutional framework such as the one proposed here has nothing of either democracy or good governance in it.

To be continued …

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Governor Legislating

TCI 5

We continue to look at Kate Sullivan's initial recommendations for Changes to Constitutional and Electoral Arrangements in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  You can download and read them by clicking on the link above.  I continue at paragraph thirteen of the paper I originally sent to the Editors of the TCI Journal:

[13]      Recommendation 9 would have the Constitution provide that the Governor may act contrary to the advice of Cabinet in an area of ministerial responsibility if to act in accordance with the Cabinet's advice would be contrary to the Statement of Governance Principles.  At first blush this may seem acceptable on the basis that the ministers have negotiated the Principles, and should not be permitted to act in breach of their contract to abide by them. 

The objection to the Recommendation is that it is an anti-democratic provision.  It does nothing to promote and develop good governance in the Territory.  Besides, there is no reason to suppose that a Governor will be seized of a greater sense of good governance than anyone else, as we have seen recently in Anguilla with the appointment by the Governor of the Commissioner of Police for Anguilla to be one of the two Magistrates for Anguilla on the day after the Commissioner surrendered his long-time previous appointment. 

It is to be remembered that we are talking about the Governor rejecting the advice of a Cabinet in which the Governor, his Deputy, and the Attorney-General have sat and participated in formulating.  If, in the presence of these worthy individuals, the Cabinet comes to a decision that some action is needed in the interests of the country, it is simply not acceptable for the Governor to be empowered unilaterally to act contrary to the advice. 

There are other preferable mechanisms that will introduce transparency and good governance into Cabinet decision-making than by making the democratic institution of the Cabinet subservient to the non-democratic one of the office of the Governor. 

Opening up uncontroversial Cabinet discussions to the press and public is one such mechanism. 

Making it mandatory for there to be a press conference immediately after Cabinet meetings, at which the press was not present, to brief the press on major decisions is another. 

Removing secrecy from Cabinet decisions is the best guarantee there is for ventilating and cleaning up those Cabinet processes that do not require secrecy.

To be continued …

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TCI 3

We are looking at my preliminary views on Kate Sullivan's Initial Recommendations for Changes to the Constitutional and Electoral Arrangements in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  I urge you to read the discussion paper if you have not done so.  It can be downloaded by clicking on the link above.  We have in the first two posts on the topic dealt with the background papers and with Ms Sullivan’s statement of what constitutional issues are not open for discussion.  I have expressed my concern there.  I continue:

[8]        So, it is with trepidation that one continues to read Ms Sullivan's initial recommendations.  Recommendations 1, 2 and 3 have their good points.  Recommendation 4 gives should give us a problem.  She is proposing that the Constitution provide that the FCO will issue a Statement of Governance Principles and the Constitution will require the Governor, Premier and Ministers to work within these principles.  The Governor will then have clear power to reject any advice and to refuse to act on any advice from the Premier, the Assembly or the Cabinet if he or she believed that such action would be in contravention of the governance principles. 

The idea of there being in place in any Overseas Territory a Statement of Governance Principles is commendable.  We must assume that it will be negotiated, that it will be a contract made by the FCO acting on behalf of and in the name of the people of the Overseas Territory.  We are expecting that there will be nothing contained in the Statement that will be offensive to or contrary to the wishes and expectations of the people of the Overseas Territory.  We won't know until we see it.

[9]        What is objectionable in this recommendation is that it is made with a view of introducing an essentially undemocratic form of government under the guise of improving good governance.  There will be no mechanism for ensuring that the FCO determines the wishes and expectations of the people.  The risk is that they may from time to time impose their own notions of good governance. 

While such a power to impose could be viewed as a healthy counterbalance to the power of the Premier and his Cabinet, there is the risk that it will introduce an undemocratic counterweight to the elected government.  The proposal does not provide any hope for local development of good governance mechanisms.  It should be repugnant to all right-thinking persons.

[10]      Particularly objectionable is the proposal to empower the Governor to reject a measure coming to him from the local legislature for his assent.  Colonial legislatures are by their nature inferior legislatures.  Only the UK Parliament is supreme under the Constitution.  Parliament in the UK can at any time rescind or amend a colonial law.  This situation only changes with independence. 

To go this much further, to provide that the colonial legislature can be overruled at the whim of a foreign official, is not acceptable in the twenty-first century.  The situation may be bad in the Turks and Caicos Islands, but nothing justifies the abrogation of democratic government in an Overseas Territory to the extent that is proposed. 

An acceptable alternative would be to have the Constitution introduce mechanisms for the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands themselves to exercise increased democratic control over errant ministers.  These mechanisms are well understood.  They include provisions for recall and for referendum, as well as a whole range of local, democracy-enabling measures which I summarise below.

[11]      Much-needed, democracy-enabling mechanisms include, without being exhaustive,

ü      strengthening the Integrity Commissioner law to give teeth to ensure that public officers publicly disclose their assets and liabilities at regular intervals;

ü      entrenching the Tenders Board and reinforcing the procurement procedure to make them fair and transparent;

ü      giving the legislature power to oversee dealing in Crown Lands;

ü      introducing an Appointments Commission to monitor the suitability of ministerial nominations to government boards and committees;

ü      enforcing adherence to public service and ministerial Codes of Ethics;

ü      entrenching a Complaints Commissioner to oversee the public service and police service response to complaints from citizens;

ü      supporting and ensuring the effectiveness of the Public Accounts Committee in overseeing the administration's spending of public monies;

ü      introducing and administering Freedom of Information Acts;

ü      obliging the Governor to accept the advice of independent Service Commissions;

ü      introducing an independent Boundaries Commission to minimise the chance of gerrymandering;

ü      and improving the transparency of Cabinet meetings by opening them up to the press and public. 

These are all locally-managed mechanisms for improving democracy and good governance.  They promote self-government and self-determination.  They do not rely on a deus ex machina in the person of the Governor and the FCO to achieve these effects, which is what, I would submit, the proposal attempts to do.

TCI 2

We are looking at my preliminary views on Kate Sullivan’s Initial Recommendations for constitutional and electoral reform for the Turks & Caicos Islands.  I urge you to read them if you have not already done so.  It may not be long before they are being proposed for Anguilla.  That should concern all of us. 

Yesterday we looked in 5 numbered paragraphs at the historical documents that established the interest of the British Government and the governments and people of the British Overseas Territories in establishing the three principles of transparency, accountability and the rule of law in all of our Overseas Territories.  We now continue at paragraph six.

[6]        It is in the light of these three underlying principles that one reads what Ms Sullivan sets out as some of the features of the TCI Constitution that are not to be the subject of the current review.  She lists them as:

·                    That the executive authority – that is, the power to govern – is held by The Queen;

·                    That the Governor is appointed by The Queen on the advice of UK Ministers and that the Governor exercises the executive authority on behalf of The Queen;

·                    That the Queen retains the power to legislate for all matters of government in the Islands, including those that are the responsibility of elected ministers; and

·                    That certain responsibilities – defined in the current Constitution as the ‘special responsibilities’ – are retained by the Governor and are not subject to the control of elected TCI ministers, but are subject to Constitutional limitation in their exercise, including through the fundamental rights provisions;

·                    That the Governor will retain the power to legislate for some matters of government in the Islands, as long as these matters are specified in the Constitution.

[7]        One reads the above words with a mounting sense of concern and dismay.  Points 3 and 5 are particularly disturbing.  The Queen will retain the power to legislate for matters that are the responsibility of elected ministers?  And, the Governor will retain the power to legislate for some matters of government? 

One would have thought that by now the FCO legal advisers were aware that an undemocratic form of government is the opposite of good governance.  Bad governance has flourished in the Overseas Territories under the supervision and tutelage of the FCO.  When unelected officials have the power to legislate in place of elected members of a House of Assembly, that is no assurance of an improvement.  Local politicians may not have the highest integrity, morals or standards.  But, at least they are accountable to the electorate. 

Foreign officials are not accountable.  Some of them are incompetent and others do not have a care for the interests of the people they are supposed to help govern.  When power is transferred from the elected ministers to the Governor, we depend for good governance on the character of the man, not on an institution designed to guarantee democracy and good governance.  A strong and fair Governor may well do no harm and may do some good.  A weak and accommodating Governor is unlikely to make good use of his increased powers. 

The whole notion of replacing democracy by the arbitrary rule of one individual is offensive.

To be continued …

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TCI 1

Have you had a look at Kate Sullivan's Initial Recommendations for Changes to the Constitutional and Electoral Arrangements in the Turks & Caicos Islands?  I have, and I have sent the Editors of the TCI Journal my preliminary views.  It might be as well to re-publish them here, with such amendments as seem appropriate for Anguilla.  We do not know when similar proposals will be put forward for us.  It appears to me that unless I am very mistaken that will not be long in coming.  Constitutional and electoral reform in Anguilla is long overdue.  These then are some of my preliminary views:

[1]        The FCO has now published Ms Sullivan's initial recommendations for constitutional and electoral reform for TCI as a discussion paper.  I have reservations about some of her Recommendations that I would like to express.  She starts off her Recommendations by giving the following useful background:

Background to this review

1. In 2008 an independent Commission of Inquiry was set up to look into possible corruption or other serious dishonesty by elected members of the TCI legislature. The final report made over 60 recommendations covering systemic weaknesses; criminal sanctions; civil recovery; integrity in public life and the management of Crown Land. Some of the Commission’s recommendations focused on deterring or preventing corruption and other serious dishonesty while others looked at the broader constitutional and statutory framework of government.

2. In August 2009, United Kingdom (UK) Government Ministers instructed the Governor of TCI to bring into force an Order in Council suspending ministerial government and the House of Assembly. The UK Government also announced that during the period of suspension a review of the 2006 Constitution would be undertaken, as had been suggested in several of the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations.

[2]        The relationship between Britain and the Overseas Territories is governed by a 1999 social contract.  This contract is titled Partnership for Progress and Prosperity.  It is an FCO Report and it commences with a foreword by Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook.  He sets out the three principles that underlie the partnership between Britain and the Overseas Territories.  He describes them as follows:

n       First, our partnership must be founded on self-determination. Our Overseas Territories are British for as long as they wish to remain British. Britain has willingly granted independence where it has been requested; and we will continue to do so where this is an option. It says a lot about the strength of our partnership that all the Overseas Territories want the constitutional link to continue. And Britain remains committed to those territories which choose to retain the British connection. 

n       Second, the partnership creates responsibilities on both sides. Britain is pledged to defend the Overseas Territories, to encourage their sustainable development and to look after their interests internationally. In return, Britain has the right to expect the highest standards of probity, law and order, good government and observance of Britain’s international commitments.

n       Third, the people of the Overseas Territories must exercise the greatest possible control over their own lives. We are proud that our Overseas Territories are beacons of democracy. We applaud their achievements, and want them to have the autonomy they need to continue to flourish.

[3]        The Foreign Secretary gave us to understand that the three underlying principles of our partnership are “self-determination”, “responsibilities”, and “the greatest possible control” over our own lives.  It is mutually agreed that we the Overseas Territories have a fundamental right to self-determination and control over our own lives while accepting our responsibilities for good governance.

[4]        The next major statement on the constitutional principles that underlie the relationship between Britain and the Overseas Territories occurred in the year 2006.  At the annual Overseas Territories and Countries conference the FCO issued a White Paper on Good Governance.  The first paragraph of this white paper explained what we mean by good governance:

1. Although it is a phrase that has gained currency in recent years, the concept of governance has been with us as long as there have been systems within societies which determine the process of decision making; and the process by which decisions are, or are not, implemented. Good governance is simply doing this well.

In ten short paragraphs the white paper sought to set out some of the issues we should look for in good governance.  It highlighted the need for the rule of law, transparency, accountability, the responsiveness of institutions, and effectiveness and efficiency in securing good governance. 

[5]        The reader takes away from this white paper the idea that good governance means doing the processes of decision making and implementation well.  That notion expressed in 2006 was an underlining and a reinforcement of the need for the rule of law, transparency, accountability and the rest of the principles set out in the 1999 Report.

To be continued …

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