Politics of Anguilla takes place in a framework of a

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

representative democratic dependency, whereby the Premier is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

, and of a

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The terr ...

, the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...

, is an internally self-governing

overseas territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Committee on Decolonization includes Anguilla on the

United Nations list of non-self-governing territories Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter defines a non-self-governing territory (NSGT) as a territory "whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government". In practice, an NSGT is a territory deemed by the United Nations Gene ...

. The territory's constitution is Anguilla Constitutional Order 1 April 1982 (amended 1990 and 2019).

Executive power The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems b ...

is exercised by the Premier and the Executive Council.

Legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...

is vested in both the Executive Council and the House of Assembly. The

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

is independent of the executive and the legislature. Military defence is the responsibility of the

Executive branch

, Monarch ,

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

, , 8 September 2022 , - , Governor ,

Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam is a British lawyer and civil servant who has served as Governor of Anguilla since 18 January 2021. She is the second female holder of the position after Christina Scott. On 15 December 2022, the Foreign, Commonweal ...

, , 18 January 2021 , - , Premier ,

Ellis Webster Ellis Lorenzo Webster is an Anguillan politician and physician. He is the Premier of Anguilla, Premier of the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla, first elected when he led the Anguilla Progressive Movement to victory in the 2020 Anguillian gen ...

, APM , 30 June 2020 The Premier appointed by the governor from among the members of the House of Assembly. His cabinet, the Executive Council, is appointed by the governor from among the elected members of the House of Assembly.

Legislative branch

Anguilla elects on territorial level a

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

. The House of Assembly has 11 members, 7 members elected for a five-year term in single-seat

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

, 2 ex officio members and 2 nominated members. The suffrage is from 18 years. Anguilla has a

Political parties and elections

Judicial branch

The courts of Anguilla are: * The

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Aug ...

in London; this is Anguilla's final

appeal court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

. * The

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Ne ...

, including: ** the Court of Appeal, and ** the High Court, based in Anguilla. * Anguilla's domestic courts (which enjoy appeals to the Court of Appeal), including: ** the Magistrates' Court, and ** the Juvenile Court. The ECSC High Court Judge based in Anguilla is The Hon. Louise Blenman.The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court page for Anguilla

International relations

Anguilla is a member of CARICOM (associate), CDB, International Criminal Police Organization - Interpol (subbureau), OECS (associate) and

ECLAC The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, UNECLAC or in Spanish and Portuguese CEPAL, is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooperation. ECLAC includes 46 member States (2 ...

(associate).

External links

Official website of the government of Anguilla

References

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