Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Constitutional Review Committee To Be Scrapped! Governor Must Agree To New Members

Constitutional Review Committee To Be Scrapped! Governor Must Agree To New Members

The Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) which was approved under the former Premier and Minister of Finance, Andrew Fahie, is to be scrapped as part of a new agreement between the National Unity Government and the United Kingdom (UK).

Under the framework for the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) report and other reforms, the Governor has been empowered in determining the final composition of the committee.

This was not explicitly the case previously.

By June 30, 2022, the agreement states, Cabinet must propose a revised Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) and that final membership be jointly agreed on by the Governor and Premier.

The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Cabinet had in December 2021 approve Mrs. Lisa Penn-Lettsome's appointment to chair the CRC along with the ten other members of the Commission who will hold public consultations on proposed changes to the BVI’s Constitution Order of 2007.

The other members approved back then included Ms. Janice Stoutt - Deputy Chairman; Dr. Benedicta P. T. Samuels Ph.D. (Law), Member; Mr. Valston Michael Graham (Law), Member; Sir Charles Michael Dennis Byron (Former Chief Justice), Member/Resource Team; Ms. Maya Barry (Law), Member; Rev. Dr. Melvin A Turnbull, Member; Mr. Rajah A Smith, Member; Mr. Sendrick Chinnery, Member; Mr. Egbert D. Wheatley, Member; and Dr. Steve Lennard, Member. The appointment of the members of the Commission was not to exceed two years and should have taken effect from January 4, 2022.

New Directions


Under the new agreement with the UK, the new CRC would be given general guidance and must submit a draft Terms of Reference (ToR) to the Governor and Premier for joint sign-off by July 31, 2022.

The CRC is being directed by the agreement to include in the ToR whether the term “Government of the Virgin Islands” should encompass statutory bodies.

Further, for the purposes of the ToR the CRC will be asked to consider the aspirations of the people of the Virgin Islands; how the executive ministerial government can be held to account in the House of Assembly for instance by some different structure, number and/or configuration of seats and/or in other ways.

The CRC must also consider whether the current constitutional pillars of governance are sufficient, and in any event how those independent institutions can be effective; the powers that need to be reserved to the Governor, and how issues as to the exercise of devolved and reserved powers respectively, when they arise, are to be resolved.

The agreement also states that the CRC is to consider a mechanism for the transfer of reserved powers to the devolved Virgin Islands’ Government in the future, without a further change to the Constitution being required.

Additionally, the CRC must consider whether there should be a regime in relation to election expenses in the form of a requirement on election candidates to submit a breakdown of expenses including donations above a specific sum and/or a cap on such expenses.

In relation to statutory boards, the CRC must consider for the ToR whether statutory boards should be embedded in the Constitution and, if so, whether there should be a Statutory Boards Commission; and whether the term “Government of the Virgin Islands” is intended to encompass statutory bodies.

On the topic of Speaker of the HoA, the CRC is being asked to consider whether the Speaker should continue to be a political appointment, or whether he or she, even if elected, should be independent of the political parties.

Further on the HoA and without prejudice to earlier legislative action, the CRC is to consider clarification of the circumstances in which persons seeking election to the HoA who contract with the Government of the Virgin Islands, either personally or through a dba, a partnership or a company with which he or she is associated, need to declare an interest, how such a declaration should be made, and the consequences of him or her not doing so.

The CRC is tasked with submitting its final report to the Premier and the Governor by June 30, 2023.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×