the Caribbean Community, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, the Association of Caribbean States, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, or any other Caribbean regional organisation or institution;
other Caribbean regional affairs relating specifically to issues that are of interest to or affect the British Virgin Islands;
the relationship between the British Virgin Islands and the United States Virgin Islands in matters of mutual interest;
European Union matters directly affecting the interests of the Territory.
However there are a number of restrictions imposed by the Constitution upon the exercise by Ministers of that delegated power,[2] including the need for separate authority from the Secretary of State to conclude any treaty or other international agreement, and the requirement to keep the Governor "fully informed" of relevant activities and to provide on request all papers and information relating to such matters.
In turn the British Government has indicated in a letter of entrustment that will consult fully with the British Virgin Islands in relation to matters which are reserved to the United Kingdom Government, including defence, internal security and civil aviation.[3]
Due to their status as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, the British Virgin Islands have no representation either on the United Nations, or in most other international organisations. Nor do they enjoy direct consular arrangements with any other country. However, the British Virgin Islands still participates in some international organisations.
Territorial disputes
The British Virgin Islands is not party to any Territorial disputes.
During its history there have been some minor disagreements as the scope of the Territory, all of which were resolved amicably and in each case the British Virgin Islands ceded[clarify] the relevant territory.
After taking control of the islands from the Dutch, the British also initially claimed Saint Croix (then known as "Santa Cruz"), but abandoned that claim in 1729.
In the period immediately after the collapse of the Federation of the West Indies, it was unclear which group Sombrero Island (also known as "Hat Island") would belong to, but the British Virgin Islands formally ceded the island to Anguilla by statute.
In the 1970s disagreement arose between the British Virgin Islands and the United States Virgin Islands as to which side of the maritime boundary Flanagan Island (formerly known as "Witch Island") fell on. The British relinquished their claim in 1977 in favour of the Americans, who thereafter declared Flanagan to be a nature reserve.[4]
International organisations
The British Virgin Islands participates in most international organisations through the United Kingdom. However, the British Virgin Islands is also a member of a number of international organisations in its own right, including:[5]
As a dependent territory, the British Virgin Islands is not technically a free standing member of the Commonwealth of Nations, but in practice operates much in the same as if it were, competing in the Commonwealth Games and otherwise participating in the organisation.
†Physiographically, these continental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically.
#Bermuda is an isolated North Atlanticoceanic island, physiographically not part of the Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, Caribbean Sea nor North American continental nor South American continental islands. It is grouped with the Northern American region, but occasionally also with the Caribbean region culturally.
The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and north-west of Anguilla. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles and part of the West Indies.
The Virgin Islands are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, While the British Virgin Islands are officially designated as “The Virgin Islands”, the name is most often used to refer to the entire international grouping of the British and United States Virgin Islands together with the Spanish Virgin Islands, which, contrary to their name are in fact officially part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, itself an unicorporated territory of the United States. Geographically, the northern islands belong to the Puerto Rico Trench. St. Croix is a displaced part of that same geologic structure. Politically, the British Virgin Islands have been governed as the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, and form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago is separated from the true Lesser Antilles by the Anegada Passage and from the main island of Puerto Rico by the Virgin Passage.
His Majesty's Government of the Virgin Islands is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of the British Virgin Islands. It is regulated by the Constitution of the British Virgin Islands.
The governor of the Virgin Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state, and is responsible for appointing the premier and the executive council.
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) are the 14 territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, while not forming part of the United Kingdom itself, are part of its sovereign territory. The permanently inhabited territories are delegated varying degrees of internal self-governance, with the United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence, foreign relations and internal security, and ultimate responsibility for good governance. All of the territories are inhabited by civilians, except three that are chiefly or only inhabited by military or scientific personnel. All fourteen have the British monarch as head of state. These UK government responsibilities are assigned to various departments of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and are subject to change.
A dependent territory, dependent area, or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state and remains politically outside the controlling state's integral area. As such, a dependent territory includes a range of non-integrated not fully to non-independent territory types, from associated states to non-self-governing territories.
The British West Indies (BWI) were colonised British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago. Other territories included Bermuda, and the former British Honduras.
The Crown Dependencies are three offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey, both located in the English Channel and together known as the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland.
An associated state is the minor partner or dependent territory in a formal, free relationship between a political territory and a major party—usually a larger nation.
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and territories in the Eastern Caribbean. It also performs the role of spreading responsibility and liability in the event of natural disaster.
The Commonwealth Caribbean is the region of the Caribbean with English-speaking countries and territories, which once constituted the Caribbean portion of the British Empire and are now part of the Commonwealth of Nations. The term includes many independent island nations, British Overseas Territories and some mainland nations.
West Indies Associated States was the collective name for a number of islands in the Eastern Caribbean whose status changed from being British colonies to states in free association with the United Kingdom in 1967. These states were Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent.
The law of the British Virgin Islands is a combination of common law and statute, and is based heavily upon English law.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the British Virgin Islands:
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity recognized in common law as belonging to the sovereign, and which have become widely vested in the government. It is the means by which some of the executive powers of government, possessed by and vested in a monarch with regard to the process of governance of the state, are carried out.
The Constitution of the British Virgin Islands is a predominantly codified constitution documented primarily within the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007 a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom. The 2007 Constitution was the fourth written constitution of the British Virgin Islands, and superseded the 1976 constitution. In addition to the constitution itself, a number of the constitutional powers of the British Virgin Islands government are specified a "letter of entrustment" from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which delegates powers to the British Virgin Islands government to represent itself in certain external affairs.
The potential annexation of the Turks and Caicos Islands by Canada is a recurring proposal on the future political status of the island territory. The islands are currently a British Overseas Territory under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.
There are fourteen British Overseas Territories, and three Crown dependencies which are under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom but not part of the United Kingdom itself. Some of these territories have gained membership of international intergovernmental organisations and sports federations. Notably Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Montserrat are associate members of UNESCO; Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands are members of the International Olympic Committee; and Bermuda is a member of the International Paralympic Committee.
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