A proposal to seek a new definition of the island’s relationship with the British Crown has been rejected by the government.
The Constitutional and Legal Affairs and Justice Committee of Tynwald has advised that a different name should be found, in the same way that colonies became overseas territories.
However, in responding to the recommendations, the government said that while some see the phrase as unideal, “it is undeniable that it has been in common usage for many years and it is widely understood”.
It added: ‘Although some of the contributors to the Committee’s inquiry argued otherwise, it may be suggested that the island does, in fact, “depend” on the United Kingdom, on behalf of the Crown, in a number of areas – including defence, formal international relations, nationality, passports, consular support and representation at inter-government bodies such as the United Nations.
“It should also be remembered that a most important element of a nation’s ability to direct its own affairs, the adoption of primary legislation, “depends” on the Crown (or its delegated representative in the Island in most cases) for Royal Assenting – without which an Act of Tynwald cannot become law.”
Freedom?
As there is no clear idea for what could replace the phrase and given that the island is not it’s own fully independent country, CoMin “does not believe that a label such as Crown Dependency demeans the Island or defines how we view ourselves”.
However, it added: “The Council of Ministers does not believe that this is a priority issue for most of the people of the Isle of Man and it cannot
support committing resource to this recommendation.
“Nevertheless, if the Committee itself wished to undertake a public consultation on this issue, the Council of Ministers would be interested in the outcome.”
The government also noted issues around consulting with Jersey and Guernsey, even though we do, in truth, have a different relationship with the UK than they do, while also raising the issue that the term is one used in British law.
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