British overseas territory

The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories that the United Kingdom considers to be its sovereign territory, but which do not form part of the United Kingdom itself.¹ They are the remnants of the British Empire that have not achieved independence.

The territories of Jersey and Guernsey (collectively known as the Channel Islands), and the Isle of Man, though also under the sovereignty of the British Crown, have a different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom, and are classed as Crown Dependencies.⁴⁵⁶ The British overseas territories and Crown Dependencies are distinct from the Commonwealth of Nations, a voluntary association of countries mostly with historic links to the British Empire.

History

The original English colonies in the New World were plantations of English subjects in lands hitherto outside the dominions of the Crown. The first such plantation was in Newfoundland, where English fishermen routinely set up seasonal camps in the 16th century.⁷

What later became known as the "Old Empire" began in 1607 with the settlement of Jamestown, the first successful permanent colony in "Virginia" (a term that was then applied generally to North America). In 1609, a second colony was unintentionally established in Bermuda (as an extension of Virginia), which, with the loss of the American colonies in 1776, is the oldest British colony in existence (English colonies became British with the 1707 unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain) .

The growth of the British Empire in the 19th century, to its peak in the 1920s, saw the UK acquire over one quarter of the world's land mass, including territories with large indigenous populations in Asia and Africa, which were held for commercial and strategic reasons rather than for settlement^{citation needed}. The late 19th century saw the larger settler colonies — in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa — becoming self-governing colonies and achieving independence in all matters except foreign policy, defence and trade. Separate self-governing colonies federated to become Canada (in 1867) and the Commonwealth of Australia (in 1901). These and other large self-governing colonies had become known as Dominions by the 1920s. The Dominions achieved full independence with the Statute of Westminster (1931). The Empire was renamed the British Commonwealth to reflect such changes and in 1949 became known as the Commonwealth of Nations. Most of the British colonies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean achieved independence. Some colonies became Commonwealth Realms, retaining the British monarch as head of state, others became republics but acknowledged Queen Elizabeth II as Head of the Commonwealth.^{citation needed}

After the independence of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in Africa in 1980 and British Honduras (now Belize) in Central America in 1981, the last major colony that remained was Hong Kong, with a population of over 5 million. Unlike other territories, the territory of Hong Kong had two different arrangements:

With 1997 approaching, the United Kingdom and China negotiated the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which led to the whole of Hong Kong becoming a "special administrative region" of China in 1997, subject to various conditions intended to guarantee the preservation of Hong Kong's capitalist economy and its way of life under British rule for at least 50 years after the handover. This was because Hong Kong's infrastructure was significantly interconnected with that of Guangdong Province, which would make it virtually impossible for those areas ceded in perpetuity to continue functioning without importing virtually all of their necessities.

Following the return of Hong Kong, the remaining British overseas possessions are mostly small island territories with small populations – the only territory of significant area being the uninhabited British Antarctic Territory. The reasons for these territories not achieving independence vary, and include:^{citation needed}

In 2002, the UK Parliament passed the British Overseas Territories Act 2002. This reclassified the UK's dependent territories as overseas territories and, with the exception of those people solely connected with the Sovereign Base Areas of Cyprus, restored full British citizenship to their inhabitants.⁸

It was once said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire",⁹ and the British Overseas Territories still extend to every geographic region of the world, with the Caribbean Overseas Territories in North America, the Falklands in South America, Saint Helena and Dependencies in Africa, Pitcairn in Oceania, Gibraltar in Europe, British Indian Ocean Territory in Asia, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in Antarctica.

Current overseas territories

Government

Head of State

The head of state in the overseas territories is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen's role in the territories is in her role as Queen of the United Kingdom, and not in right of each territory. The Queen appoints a representative in each territory to exercise her executive power. In territories with a permanent population, a Governor is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the British Government, usually a retired senior military officer, or a senior civil servant. In territories without a permanent population, a Commissioner is usually appointed to represent the Queen. For overseas territories with dependencies, the Governor may appoint an Administrator to represent him or her in that dependency.^{citation needed}

The role of the Governor is to act as the de facto head of state, and they are usually responsible for appointing the head of government, and senior political positions in the territory. The Governor is also responsible for liaising with the UK Government, and carrying out any ceremonial duties. A Commissioner has the same powers as a Governor, but also acts as the head of government.

Government

All the overseas territories have their own system of government, and localised laws. The structure of the government appears to be closely correlated to the size and political development of the territory.^{citation needed}

^† On 16 March 2009 the British parliament voted suspend self-government in the territory for a period of up to 2 years. A subsequent legal judgement was upheld by three member British Court of Appeal on 12 August 2009, thus allowing the process to be implemented.⁴⁰⁴¹

Legal system

Each overseas territory has its own legal system independent of the United Kingdom. The legal system is generally based on English common law, with some distinctions for local circumstances. Each territory has its own attorney general, and court system. For the smaller territories, the UK may appoint a UK-based lawyer or judge to work on legal cases. This is particularly important for cases involving serious crimes and where it is impossible to find a jury who will not know the defendant in a small population island^{citation needed}.

The Pitcairn rape trial of 2004 is an example of how the UK may choose to provide the legal framework for particular cases where the territory cannot do so alone.

Relations with the UK

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has the responsibility of looking after the interests of all overseas territories except one. The Overseas Territory Department is headed by the Foreign Office Minister for the Overseas Territories, currently the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State is Chris Bryant⁴². The exception is the Sovereign Base Areas territory, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence.

The UK and the overseas territories do not have diplomatic representations, although the governments of the overseas territories with indigenous populations all retain a representative office in London. The United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA) also represents the interests of the territories in London. The governments in both the United Kingdom and territories occasionally meet to mitigate or resolve disagreements over the process of governance in the territories and levels of autonomy.⁴³

The UK provides financial assistance to the overseas territories via the Department of International Development. Currently only Montserrat and Saint Helena receive budgetary aid (ie financial contribution to recurrent funding). Several specialist funds are made available by the UK, including:

Foreign affairs

Gibraltar is the only overseas territory that is part of the European Union (EU), although it is not part of the customs union and is not a member in its own right. None of the other Overseas Territories are members of the EU, and the main body of EU law does not apply and, although certain slices of EU law are applied to those territories as part of the EU's Association of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT Association), they are not commonly enforceable in local courts. The OCT Association also provides overseas territories with structural funding for regeneration projects.

Since the return of full British citizenship to most 'belongers' of overseas territories (mainly since the British Overseas Territories Act 2002), the citizens of those territories hold concurrent European Union citizenship, giving them rights of free movement across all EU member states.

Several nations dispute the UK's sovereignty in the following overseas territories:

Currencies

The many British overseas territories use a varied allotment of currencies with very few using the British pound as their native currency.

Citizenship

None of the overseas territories have their own nationality status, and all citizens are classed as British Overseas Territories citizens (BOTC). They do however, have legislative independence over immigration, and holding the status of a BOTC does not automatically give a person a right to abode in any of the territories, as it depends on the territory's immigration laws. A territory may issue Belonger status to allow a person classed as a BOTC to reside in the territory that they have close links with. Non-BOTC citizens may acquire Belonger status in order to reside in a particular territory (and may subsequently become naturalised BOTC if they wish).

Historically, most inhabitants of the former British Empire held the status of British subject, which was usually lost upon independence. From 1949, British subjects in the United Kingdom and the remaining crown colonies became citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies. However changes in British immigration and nationality law between 1962 and 1983 saw the creation of a separate British Dependent Territories citizenship with effect from January, 1983. Citizens in most territories were stripped of full British citizenship. This was mainly to prevent a mass exodus of the citizens of Hong Kong to the UK before the agreed handover to China in 1997. Exception was made for the Falkland Islands, which had been invaded the previous year by Argentina. Full British citizenship was soon returned to the people of Gibraltar due to their friction with Spain.

British citizens do not, however, have an automatic right to reside in any of the Overseas Territories. Some territories prohibit immigration, and any visitors are required to seek the permission of the territory's government to live in the territory. As they are used primarily as military bases, Ascension Island and the British Indian Ocean Territory do not allow visitors to the territory unless on official business.

Military

Defence of the Overseas Territories is the responsibility of the UK. Many of the overseas territories are used as military bases by the UK and its allies.

Symbols and insignia

Each overseas territory has been granted its own flag and coat of arms by the British monarch. Traditionally, the flags follow the Blue Ensign design, with the Union Flag in the canton, and the territory's coat of arms in the fly. Exceptions to this are Bermuda which uses a Red Ensign; British Antarctic Territory which uses a White Ensign; British Indian Ocean Territory which uses a Blue Ensign with wavy lines to symbolise the sea; and Gibraltar which uses a banner of its coat of arms (the flag of the city of Gibraltar). Gibraltar's coat of arms is unique in that it is the only armorial insignia that dates from before the period of British colonial administration^{citation needed}.

The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia are the only British overseas territories without an official flag of their own. The Union Flag is used in this territory and is also used for Ascension Island.