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His Majesty The King has officially signed off on changes to the way new Bailiwick laws will be enacted, in a move that’s hoped to bolster our international identity and speed up the implementation of legislation.
All British laws passed by parliaments need to be given Royal Assent by the monarch through the UK’s Privy Council, which acts as the King-in-Council.
The States of Guernsey last year agreed to ask the Council to delegate that power to His Excellency, the Lieutenant-Governor for local laws.
The Privy Council last week approved an Order for the new arrangement to commence from 29 February, with the first legislation likely to land on our Lt-Governor's desk after the next States meeting in March.
However, some major and non-domestic legislation will continue to be approved by The King, including matters of national security, defence, or the Royal Prerogative.
Alderney and Sark’s government also supported the changes, while consultation has been ongoing for several months with the Government of Jersey and the Ministry of Justice.
Deputy Lyndon Trott, Guernsey’s current top politician, said: “This new process is not only of practical importance, it also reflects our identity as a jurisdiction through our direct relationship with the Crown, distinct from the UK”.
Pictured: The Lt-Governor, Lt-General Richard Cripwell CB CBE will be the monarch's first Bailiwick representative to personally give assent to laws.
Work to uncouple local law approval from the Privy Council has been ongoing for around a decade, with a special committee looking into constitutional affairs, led by former Deputy Roger Perrot, recommending the changes.
But numerous delays and competing priorities had prevented that work being seen through until last May when a policy letter was finally put forward by the-then Policy & Resources Committee.
Deputy Trott sat on the committee looking into the change, something he described as an “honour”.
“Following years of work, and noting the benefits of an expedited process, I am pleased this change has now been agreed,” he said.
It’s hoped the islands can be more dynamic and reactive in passing laws in response to external events as the respective parliaments will no longer rely on set schedules of the Privy Council.
The Isle of Man has operated a similar system successfully for over 40 years and tweaks have been made for the Bailiwick in consultation with Jersey, the MoJ and local law officers.
The States also agreed last May that local people should sit on the Council to better represent the islands’ interests and constitutional position to the UK, but it’s unclear how far this work has progressed.
Policy & Resources are also bound to review the effectiveness of the new system in two years' time.
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