States of Guernsey

The States of Guernsey (French: États de Guernesey) is the parliament of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guernsey also apply to Alderney and Sark (the other component parts of the Bailiwick of Guernsey) as "Bailiwick-wide legislation" with the consent of the governments of those islands. All enactments of the States of Guernsey apply to Herm as well as Guernsey, since Herm is wholly owned by the States of Guernsey.

States of Guernsey

États de Guernesey (in French)
Type
Type
Leadership
Richard McMahon
since May 2020
Policy and Resources Committee
Gavin St Pier
since May 2016
Structure
Seats40
Political groups
  •      Independent (38)
  •      Alderney representatives (2)
Elections
Last election
27 April 2016
Next election
April 2020
Website
www.gov.gg/parliament
Guernsey
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Guernsey

When constituted as a legislature, it is officially called the States of Deliberation. When constituted as an electoral college, it is officially called the States of Election.

Legislation passed by the States is termed Laws (Loi), which take effect in the island by Order-in-Council. Minor and secondary legislation does not require the assent of the Queen-in-Council and are known as Ordinances (Ordonnances).

Membership

The States of Deliberation consists of 38 People's Deputies, elected every four years from multi-member districts by plurality block voting, in which each voter can vote for as many candidates as there are seats in the district. Two Alderney Deputies are appointed by the States of Alderney to represent Alderney's interest in matters delegated by Alderney to Guernsey under the 1948 Agreement. The Alderney Representatives are full members of the States of Deliberation but are unpaid, and are chosen from the 10 members of the States of Alderney after an Alderney-wide plebiscite.

There are also two non-voting members being the Law Officers of the Crown - the Procureur (Attorney General) and the Comptroller (Solicitor General) both appointed by the monarch. The Bailiff presides over the States.

History

The legislature derives its name from the estates (French: états) of the Crown, the Church and the people from whom the assembly was originally summoned. The Jurats, representing the Crown, and the representatives of the Church of England were replaced in the constitutional reforms following the Second World War, when the office of Conseiller was introduced.

Until the General Election of 2000, there were 33 Deputies elected with three year mandates, and 12 Conseillers representing the Bailiwick, serving terms of six years, with half being elected every three. The Conseillers were not originally directly elected by the people (although latterly directly elected by Bailiwick-wide vote), and the office has now been abolished. The 10 Douzaine representatives (representing parish authorities) were removed from the States in the 2004 constitutional reform and the total of elected deputies rose to the 45 total. In 2016 the number of deputies was reduced to 38.[1]

A 2018 referendum means the whole island will form a single 38-member district for the 2020 election.

Recent election results

The last general election was on 27 April 2016.

Current Deputies and Representatives

Constitution of the States of Deliberation as at January 2020:[2]

Castel District

Saint Peter Port North District

  • John Gollop - President Development & Planning Authority
  • Charles Parkinson - President States Trading Supervisory Board
  • Lester Queripel
  • Michelle Le Clerc - President Employment & Social Security Committee
  • Marc Leadbeater
  • Joe Mooney

See also
  • States of Jersey
  • The States
  • List of Laws of Guernsey

References
  1. "Guernsey by-election approved despite concerns". BBC.
  2. "Constitution of the States of Deliberation and Committee Responsibilities". States of Guernsey.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.