|
About the Isle of Man - Laws, Regulations
and Standards
Her Majesty the Queen as Lord of Mann is our Head of State. Her
personal representative on the Island is His Excellency the Lieutenant
Governor, who is appointed by the Crown for a five-year term.
The Island is a Crown Dependency which, through its ancient parliament,
Tynwald, enjoys a high degree of domestic legislative and political
autonomy.
Dating back to Viking origins over 1,000 years ago, Tynwald is the
oldest legislature in the world in continuous existence. It has
two branches: the House of Keys and the Legislative Council.
Every five years the House of Keys is dissolved by the Lieutenant
Governor and a General Election is held to elect members of the
House of Keys. The House of Keys is the Lower Branch of Tynwald,
which consists of 24 members who represent single member and multi
member constituencies. The members of the House of Keys are directly
elected by the people of the Isle of Man. The majority of Members
sit as independents, and the virtual absence of party politics has
contributed to the remarkable stability of the Manx system.
Eight of the eleven Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs), are
elected by the Members of the House of Keys; the remaining Members
of Legislative Council are the ex-officio members, H.M. Attorney
General, the Lord Bishop and the President of Tynwald, who is elected
by Tynwald as a whole.
The Legislative Council generally acts as a revising chamber for
Bills which are usually introduced in the Keys. The Royal Assent
to Tynwald Bills is given by the Queen or, now more commonly, by
His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor.
The two branches sit separately throughout the parliamentary year
principally to enact primary legislation; they sit together as Tynwald
Court mainly to debate matters of policy, approve delegated legislation
and to adopt financial motions. On 5th July each year, Tynwald Court
assembles in the open air on Tynwald Hill at St. John's, a Viking
site of the Manx parliament, to conduct parliamentary business and
receive petitions for redress from aggrieved citizens.
Lawyers in the Isle of Man are known as advocates and combine the
roles of solicitors and barristers in England. Organised into partnerships,
Manx advocates perform a wide range of work and have an exclusive
right of audience in the Island's courts (although English barristers
can be licensed to appear in certain cases). Other legal work (except
conveyancing) can be undertaken in the Island by registered legal
practitioners qualified to practice in other jurisdictions.
Although English law does not extend to the Isle of Man, the Manx
legal system is based on the principles of English common law, like
the legal systems of most Commonwealth countries. Manx criminal
law was codified in the 19th century and is closely based on English
law. In relation to contract, tort, family law and social security,
Manx law is very similar to English law. But in other respects Manx
law has been developed to meet the Island's special circumstances,
particularly with regard to direct taxation, company law and financial
supervision.
As regards land law, many of the changes made in English law in
recent times have not been followed in the Isle of Man and there
are significant differences between Manx and English conveyancing
procedures. The Manx system is based on a Registry of Deeds, although
a system of land registration is now being set up.
The principal sources of Manx law are Acts of Tynwald and Orders
and Regulations made under these Acts. Tynwald has power to pass
Acts on any subject, but all Acts of Tynwald require the Assent
of the Queen. The United Kingdom Parliament at Westminster still
legislates for the Island in respect of some subjects which are
of common concern to the Isle of Man and the United Kingdom, such
as defence, nationality and immigration.
Although the Isle of Man is largely autonomous, the United Kingdom
remains responsible for the Island's defence and international relations.
EU law has direct application to the Isle of Man only for very limited
purposes, in accordance with Protocol 3 to the 1972 Act of Accession.
The Island's High Court judges are the two Deemsters (a term dating
from Viking times), who have jurisdiction over all the criminal
and civil matters that in England would fall under the High Court,
County Court and Crown Court.
The Manx Appeal Court (the Staff of Government Division) consists
of the Deemsters and the Judge of Appeal, a part-time position filled
by an English QC. The final appeal, one that is rarely pursued,
is to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
The Island has its own lay magistrates (similar to their English
counterparts) and also two stipendiary magistrates (the High Bailiff
and Deputy High Bailiff) who also act as coroners of inquests and
preside over the licensing court.
Back to top
|
