British Indian Ocean Territory Order 1965

British Indian Ocean Territory Order 1965

Statutory Instrument
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Citation	SI 1965/1920
Dates
Made	8 November 1965
Other legislation
Made under	Colonial Boundaries Act 1895
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the British Indian Ocean Territory Order 1965 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The British Indian Ocean Territory Order 1965 is an order in Council which established the British Indian Ocean Territory, consisting of the Chagos Archipelago and three islands of the Seychelles, as a legal entity separate to British Mauritius and to British Seychelles.

Background

In 1958, the United States Navy identified Diego Garcia as an ideal location for a future military base. ^[1]

In 1960, the British Government agreed with the United States to establish a military base, and started discussions with Mauritius over independence. ^[2]

In September 1965, in what was known as the Lancaster House Agreement Mauritius was forced to exchange the islands for independence. ^{[1] [3]}

At the time of the order, the British Government committed that the territory would be ceded to Mauritius when the territory was no longer needed. ^[4]

Details

Mauritius received £3,000,000 in return for the British Government purchasing the archipelago. ^[3]

The agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom took the form of an exchange of notes. ^[1] This was not a formal treaty, which meant that there was no domestic legislative approval in the Parliament of the United Kingdom or the United States Congress. ^[1]

The order in Council established a Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory. ^[5]

The British Government has argued that the order established the British Indian Ocean Territory as "constitutionally distinct" from the United Kingdom. ^[6]

The order in Council also transferred Aldabra, Farquhar, and Desroches from the Colony of the Seychelles to the British Indian Ocean Territory. ^[7]

Further developments

Between 1965 and 1973, the territory was depopulated, resulting in the expulsion of the Chagossians. ^[8]

In 1976, Aldabra, Farquhar, and Desroches were ceded to the Republic of the Seychelles. ^[7]

References

1. Twyman-Ghoshal, Anamika (24 February 2022). "How the US and UK worked together to recolonise the Chagos Islands and evict Chagossians". The Conversation . Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
2. Siddique, Haroon (3 October 2024). "A timeline of the UK's history with the Chagos Islands". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 25 March 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
3. "Chagos Islands dispute: UK misses deadline to return control". BBC News . 22 November 2019. Archived from the original on 25 November 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
4. "DIEGO GARCIA MILITARY BASE AND BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY BILL" (PDF). UK Parliament. 15 July 2025. p. 3. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
5. "In the Matter of the Chagos Marine Protected Area Arbitration – before – An Arbitral Tribunal Constituted Under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea – between – The Republic of Mauritius – and – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" (PDF). Permanent Court of Arbitration. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
6. Cuddy, Alice (16 December 2024). "UK unlawfully detained migrants on Diego Garcia, judge finds". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 December 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
7. Bashfield, Samuel; Proukaki, Elena Katselli (29 June 2022). "The Rules-Based Order, International Law and the British Indian Ocean Territory: Do as I Say, Not as I Do". German Law Journal. 23 (5): 713–737. doi:10.1017/glj.2022.44. ISSN   2071-8322.
8. Harris, Peter (20 February 2022). "Britain's ownership of the Chagos islands has no basis, Mauritius is right to claim them". The Conversation . Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2025.