Privy Councillor with responsibility for the Crown Dependencies

The responsibility of Privy Counsellor for the Crown Dependencies is currently assigned to the holder of the office of Secretary of State for Justice of the United Kingdom.[1] In this capacity, the Secretary of State is acting as a privy counsellor, and not in their capacity as a minister of the United Kingdom government.[2] The relationship with of the Channel Islands is "technically with the Crown",[3] and not the United Kingdom government, and hence the responsibilities are not part of the Secretary of State for Justice's ministerial portfolio.[3][4][5][6][7]

The relationship between us and the Crown Dependencies is a subtle one. They are dependencies of the Crown, they are not part of the United Kingdom, so the responsibilities I have for them are as a privy councillor.

— Jack Straw, Home Secretary and Privy Counsellor for the Crown Dependencies, 2 May 1997 – 8 June 2001[3]

In relation to Crown dependency affairs, the Privy Counsellor for the Crown Dependencies is legally expected to have regard to the needs of the relevant Crown dependency government, even if they conflict with the views of the UK government. The Jersey Law Review examined the "different functions of the Home Secretary first as a Privy Councillor responsible for the affairs of Jersey and secondly as a member of the [UK] cabinet," and concluded that "there was plainly no power to refuse" to submit a Jersey law for Privy Council approval because the UK Treasury objected to it.[8]

Between 2001 and 2007 the Lord Chancellor and then the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs held this responsibility.[9][10]

Prior to 2001, the Home Secretary was the Privy Counsellor responsible for the Crown dependencies.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Government Response to the Justice Select Committee's Report 'Crown Dependencies: developments since 2010'" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. March 2014. The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice is the Privy Counsellor with special responsibility for Island Affairs.
  2. ^ Kermode, David (2001). Offshore Island Politics: The Constitutional and Political Development of the Isle of Man in the Twentieth Century. Centre for Manx Studies Monographs 3. Liverpool University Press. p. 379. ISBN 978-0-85323-777-8.
  3. ^ a b c Crown Dependencies. Eighth Report of the Justice Committee for Session 2009-10. Volume 1: Report, Together with Formal Minutes. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 2010. p. 6.
  4. ^ "Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice: Responsibilities". GOV.UK. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  5. ^ Cawley, Charles (2015). Colonies in Conflict: The History of the British Overseas Territories. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 363. ISBN 978-1-4438-8128-9. The UK Government is responsible for the defence and international relations of the Crown Dependencies, acting through the Privy Council, similar to the BOTs. The Privy Counsellor who is the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor is responsible for managing their relationship with the Crown, in particular coordinating appointments and processing legislation for Royal Assent.
  6. ^ Kermode, David (2008). Ministerial Government in the Isle of Man: The First Twenty Years, 1986-2006. Isle of Man: Manx Heritage Foundation. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-9554043-7-5. ... advised by the Secretary of State for Home Affairs in his capacity as a Privy Counsellor.
  7. ^ The Times Reports of Debates in the Manx Legislature. Volume 102. United Kingdom. 1984. p. 594. It must be remembered that responsibility for the Island's affairs does not actually fall on the Home Office, but on the Privy Counsellor responsible for advising the sovereign on the affairs of Crown dependencies.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ "A harmful delay". Jersey Law Review (2): 120. 2001. Very little has been said officially about the extraordinary delay in granting royal sanction to a law which, inter alia, authorized the collection of the bulk of the Island's revenue during 1998. [...] one can understand however the political embarrassment felt by the UK government at being seen to endorse a law containing a provision which on any view must be regarded as falling within the description of "harmful tax competition". But does political embarrassment justify a refusal to submit for sanction by the Privy Council a fiscal measure adopted by the elected representatives of a Crown dependency? The question throws into sharp relief the different functions of the Home Secretary first as Privy Councillor responsible for the affairs of Jersey and secondly as a member of the cabinet. [...] there was plainly no power to refuse to submit the law for Privy Council sanction. Political embarrassment is no justification for a failure to act in accordance with a legal duty.
  9. ^ "Background briefing on the Crown Dependencies: Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016. The Lord Chancellor is the Privy Counsellor primarily concerned with the affairs of the Crown Dependencies.
  10. ^ "Fact sheet on the UK's relationship with the Crown Dependencies" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. February 2020. The Queen is the Head of State of each Island and the Lieutenant-Governor for each Crown Dependency is Her Majesty's personal representative. The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice is the Privy Counsellor with special responsibility for Island affairs and is supported by a Ministry of Justice Minister who is responsible for the conduct of Crown Dependency business within Whitehall.
  11. ^ "Review of Financial Regulation in the Crown Dependencies" (PDF). Office of the Review of Financial Regulation in the Crown Dependencies. November 1998. The Crown has ultimate responsibility for the good government of the Islands. The Crown acts through the Privy Council on the recommendations of the Ministers of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom in their capacity as Privy Counsellors. [...] The British Home Secretary is the Privy Counsellor primarily concerned with the affairs of the Islands and is the channel of communication between them and the Crown and the United Kingdom Government.


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