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 History of the British Virgin Islands is usually, for convenience, broken up into five separate periods:
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.
Tortola is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of 55.7 square kilometres with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in Road Town. Mount Sage is its highest point at 530 metres above sea level.
The House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands, until 2007 known as the Legislative Council, has 15 members: 13 directly elected for four-year terms, and two ex officio members.
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:
BVI Airways is a defunct airline of the British Virgin Islands. Its headquarters were located at its hub at Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport serving the territory's main island of Tortola with the capital, Road Town. It suspended inter-island operations in late 2014, shortly after a change of ownership to concentrate on a non-stop schedule directly to the United States. The company slogan was Your Caribbean Airline.
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 The 2007 Constitution was the fourth written constitution of the British Virgin Islands, and superseded the 1976 constitution.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 Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands is the collective decision-making body of the British Virgin Islands government. It is composed of the Premier, four other Ministers of Government, and the Attorney General as an ex officio, non-voting, member. The Governor attends and presides over meetings of Cabinet where possible. The Cabinet has responsibility for the formulation of policy, including directing the implementation of such policy, insofar as it relates to every aspect of government, except those matters for which are reserved to the Governor under the Constitution. The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the House of Assembly for such policies and their implementation.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 27 November 1950, the first after the decision to restore the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands. Four members were elected to the First Legislative Council.
The Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands is the principal legal adviser to the Government of the British Virgin Islands. Under the Constitution of the British Virgin Islands the Attorney General sits ex officio in both the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands and in the Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands, but is not permitted to vote in either. The Attorney General also sits on the Committee for the Prerogative of Mercy and on the National Security Council.
Dr. Joseph Samuel Archibald, QC was a Saint Kittitian-born British Virgin Islander jurist, lawyer, registrar, magistrate, former Director of Public Prosecutions, and former Attorney General.
Vivian Inez Archibald CBE is a British Virgin Islander politician and businesswoman who has served as the Deputy Governor of the British Virgin Islands since September 2008. On 21 August 2008, Meg Munn, who held the British ministerial portfolio for the Overseas Territories at the time, instructed the Governor of the British Virgin Islands to appoint Archibald as Deputy Governor. Inez Archibald took office as the British Virgin Islands' Deputy Governor on 15 September 2008.
The foreign relations of the British Virgin Islands are largely conducted on behalf of the British Virgin Islands Government by the United Kingdom through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a result of the Territory's status as a British Overseas Territory. However the Constitution of the British Virgin Islands provides that this power is delegated to Premier and Ministers of Government in relation to certain specific areas:
- 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;
- tourism and tourism-related matters;
- taxation and the regulation of finance and financial services; and
- European Union matters directly affecting the interests of the Territory.
Events from the year 2017 in the British Virgin Islands.
The effects of Hurricane Irma in the British Virgin Islands were significant in terms of both human and socio-economic impact on the Territory. Hurricane Irma struck the British Virgin Islands as a Category 5 hurricane during the daylight hours of Wednesday, 6 September 2017. It caused widespread destruction, and killed a total of four people. The eye of the hurricane traveled over the three major islands in the group: Virgin Gorda, Tortola and Jost Van Dyke.
Events from the year 2020 in the British Virgin Islands.
Events from the year 2021 in the British Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands 2021 Commission of Inquiry was a public inquiry commissioned by the then Governor of the British Virgin Islands, Augustus Jaspert. The terms of reference were to make "a full, faithful and impartial inquiry into whether there was information that corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty in relation to officials, whether statutory, elected or public, may have taken place in recent years; if there were such information, to consider the conditions which allowed such conduct to take place and whether they may still exist; and, if appropriate, to make independent recommendations with a view to improving the standards of governance and the operation of the agencies of law enforcement and justice in the Territory".
