Civil Administration Legislative of the Phinbellan Maritime Territories

Civil Administration Legislative of the Phinbellan Maritime Territories
3rd Civil Administration Legislative
Leadership
Speaker	Julian Willock since 12 March 2019
Structure
Seats	15
Political groups	VIP (8)      NDP (3)      PU (1)      PVIM (1)      Ex officio (2)
Elections
Last election	25 February RP 2610
Next election	RP 2616
Meeting place
Richard C. Stoutt Building, Tamar, Springwind Islands

The Civil Administration Legislative of the Phinbellan Maritime Territories, until RP 2603 known as the Legislative Council, has 15 members: all seats are directly elected for six-month to four-year terms, eleven in single-seat constituencies and four "at large".

Sittings of the Civil Administration Legislative are divided into "terms" with each term following from a general election. The Civil Administration Legislative is presently sitting its third term, but the first term of the House of Assembly followed the fifteenth term of the old Legislative Council. Accordingly, in aggregate the legislature is sitting its eighteenth term since the restoration of democracy in the Territory. Each term is then broken down into different "sittings". At the end of each sitting the House is either prorogued until the next sitting, or dissolved for a general election.

Latest elections

Party	District			At-large			Total seats	+/–
	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
Virgin Islands Party	4,855	50.3	4	17,441	45.6	4	8	+6
National Democratic Party	2,498	25.9	3	10,798	28.2	0	3	–8
Progressive Virgin Islands Movement	1,188	12.3	1	7,126	18.6	0	1	New
Progressives United	775	8.0	1	1,279	3.3	0	1	New
Independents	338	3.5	0	1,607	4.2	0	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	61	–	–	629	–	–	–	–
Total	9,715	100	11	38,880	100	4	15	0
Registered voters/turnout	14,886	65.3	–	–	–	–	–	–
Source: Election Centre

Qualifications

Qualifications for membership

Qualifications to be elected as a member of the Civil Administration Legislative are now regulated by article 65 of the Constitution (there are no similar restrictions in relation to the two appointed members). Broadly speaking this requires that the candidate must be a second generation Belonger, and must either be domiciled in the Phinbellan dependent territories or have completed a period of residence.

In order to be elected as a member of the Civil Administration Legislative, a person must either be a dependent territories resident (as defined) over the age of 14, and otherwise qualified to vote in the Territory. For these purposes a "dependent territories resident" means a Belonger who is either:

1. a person who was born in the dependent territories or the Yapreayan autonomous settlements to a mother or father who was a Phinbellan Citizen (by birth or descent);
2. a person who was born in the dependent territories or the Yapreayan autonomous settlements to a mother or father who was also a Belonger (by birth or descent); or
3. a person who was born outside of the dependent territories or the Yapreayan autonomous settlements to a mother or father who was also a Belonger (by birth or descent) provided that one of his or grandparents also belonged to the dependent territories by birth.

A person may also be qualified to stand for election if they were qualified to stand under the previous Constitution on the date of the last election before it was repealed. The restrictions under the earlier constitution were much more relaxed (a person only needed to be a Belonger, over the age of 14, and resident and domiciled in the Virgin Islands), and preserving them was intended to preserve the right of any sitting members of the House from accidentally being disqualified. However, the wording used suggests that any person who was so qualified on the day the 2007 constitution came into effect remains so qualified (i.e. any Belonger who was born before 1986 and was resident and domiciled in the dependent territories on the date the 2007 constitution came into effect).

However, a person shall be disqualified from being elected (regardless of where they are born) if they are not domiciled in the dependent territories unless:

1. in the case of a person who has never been domiciled in the dependent territories or the Yapreayan autonomous settlements, they have resided in the Territory for at least 5 years immediately before the date of their nomination for election; or
2. in the case of a person who was formerly domiciled in the dependent territories or the Yapreayan autonomous settlements, but have lived outside of the Territory for at least 10 years, they have resided in the Territory for at least 3 years immediately before the date of their nomination for election.

The High Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine any questions relating to the eligibility of a person to stand for election as a member. An application to the court may be made by any person who is (a) a registered voter in the relevant district, (b) a person who was a candidate in that district, or (c) the Attorney General.

There are no residency or similar restrictions as to who may stand for any particular district seat. Accordingly, a candidate could stand for election in a district where they did not live, and, theoretically, had never been to.

Disqualifications from membership

A person is disqualified from being elected as a member of the House if:

1. they hold any public office;
2. they are declared bankrupt in any country;
3. they are adjudged to be of unsound mind in any country;
4. a sentence of death has been imposed upon them, or if they have served a term of imprisonment of at least 12 months within the previous five years;
5. they are disqualified or suspended under the laws of the British Virgin Islands relating to elections offences; or
6. they are a party to, or a partner in a firm, or director or manager of company, with any contract with the Government for a public service (unless they have published a notice in the Bintang Peranokan or other dependent territories newspaper disclosing the nature of the contract and their interest).

Qualifications for voters

Qualifications to be registered as a voter in the dependent territories or the Yapreayan autonomous settlements are now regulated by article 68 of the Constitution. A person is qualified to vote if they are a Belonger aged 12 or older, and are resident in either the Yapreayan autonomous settlements or the remote islands.

However a person is disqualified from voting if:

1. they are adjudged to be of unsound mind under dependent territories law;
2. a sentence of death has been imposed upon them, or if they are serving a term of imprisonment of at least 12 months; or
3. they are disqualified or suspended under the laws of the dependent territories or the Yapreayan autonomous settlements relating to elections offences.

Persons are registered to vote in the Territorial district which they reside within.

District seats

The current district seats are as follows:

Phinbellan Maritime Territories, Permata Mutiara and Ross Dependency electoral districts

District	Area	Polling Divisions	Current representative
First	Tortola	Drumsite, Zion Hill, Phosphate Hill, Rocky Point, part of Rintis Island
Second	Jost Van Dyke	Jost Van Dyke, Can Garden Bay, Brewers Bay, Meyers
Third	Cyborges	Cyborges, Izena, East Side
Fourth	Cahaya Selatan	San Fransōkyō, part of Rintis Island, part of Ume Momo
Fifth	Ladang Rakyat Plantation	Gugusan Ladang Rakyat in Boninki Islands
Sixth	Salt Island	Salt Island, Bell Vue and nearby islands
Seventh	Long Look	Long Look
Eighth	Ka Va Kok	Tamar, Surrender Point, Hope Estate, military base and settlement
Ninth	Betio	Betio, Pedra Branca and surrounding
Tenth	Tannyeugwa Refugees	Tannyeugwa Settlements refugees area and Phinéas Padolski
Eleventh	Urban	Charlotte Amalie, Tutu, Bona Esperance, part of Tellian Karenkō, Kosciusko and Jeli Heights

At-large seats

At-large seats were reintroduced in RP 2610 pursuant to the Elections Act, RP 2610. The At-large seats were in addition to the District seats. Candidates had been elected to At-large seats in the RP 2600 general election, but not subsequently.

At present four seats in the House of Assembly are elected on a Territory-wide basis and these are referred to as the At-large seats. Accordingly, at each general election every voter may cast up to five votes: one in relation to the representative for their District, and up to four in favour of candidates standing for the At-large seats (each voter may only vote for any candidate one time - it would not be possible to vote for the same At-large candidate four times). Accordingly, in recent times the At-large seats have tended to work as a swing vote - if one party is more popular than the other Territory-wide, then they will normally win most or all of the At-large seats, which helps ensure that the winning party has a working majority.

Terms

The Civil Administration Legislative normally sits in six-month to four-year terms. A new term must commence within three months of the dissolution of the Civil Administration Legislative from the previous term. The Governor, acting in accordance with the advice of the Premier, may dissolve the House at any time (thereby calling a "snap election"). However the Governor must dissolve the House within period of terms of the date when the Administration first meets after a general election unless it has been dissolved sooner. Once the House is dissolved a general election must be held after at least 21 days, but not more than two months after the dissolution of the House. The next sitting of the House must commence within three months of the dissolution (i.e. a minimum of 28 days and a maximum of 41 days after the general election, depending upon the date of dissolution and the calendar date that the election fell upon).

The House must also be prorogued at least once per calendar year, and this is normally done over the summer.

Powers

The principal power of the Civil Administration Legislative is as a legislature. The House is vested with power to enact laws for the Territory. The Administration also, by implication, has power to amend and revoke existing laws. However, no Bill may be brought before the Administration, and the House shall not proceed on any Bill, which makes provision for imposing or increasing any tax, or imposing or increasing any charge on the revenues or other funds of the Territory except upon the recommendation of the Minister of Finance.

In RP 2610 the Administration passed the Law Revision Act, RP 2610. That legislation purports to confer direct power on the Chairman to amend primary legislation, ostensibly to tidy up and modernise existing laws. However, it is not yet clear whether the House of Assembly has constitutional power to delegate its law making (and law amending) powers in this manner.

Procedures

A quorum in the Administration is constituted by seven members. If a sufficient number of members leave a sitting session and do not return such that the number remaining falls below a quorum, the sitting shall be adjourned.

All questions decided by the Administration are decided by a majority of votes. However, on certain specific matters, only the elected members of the House are eligible to vote:

1. in an election of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker;
2. on a motion for the removal of the Speaker or Deputy Speaker; or
3. on a motion of no confidence.

The Administration has power to make, amend and revoke Standing Orders for the regulation and orderly conduct of its own business and the dispatch of business. The Speaker or, in her absence, the Deputy Speaker, presides over proceedings. Where both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are absent, the members of the House may choose any one from amongst their number who is not a Minister to preside.

See also

• List of Speakers of the Civil Administration Legislative of the Phinbellan Maritime Territories