The Trinidad and Tobago Independence Act 1962 (c. 54) was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

that granted

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

with effect from 31 August 1962. As a result of the Act, Trinidad and Tobago became an independent country in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

achieving independence from 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 ...

Background to enactment

The bill was first presented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as the ''Trinidad and Tobago Independence Bill'' on 4 July 1962, by Secretary of State for the Colonies,

Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling (7 March 1917 – 14 February 1979) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1962 to 1964 and as Home Secretary from 1970 to 1972. From 1955 until the late 1960s, he was spoken of as a prospecti ...

. It was passed in the House of Commons after a third reading and committee on 6 July 1962, without amendments. It entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

on 9 July 1962 and was read by

George Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne George John Charles Mercer Nairne Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne, DL (27 November 1912 – 25 August 1999), was a British peer and Conservative politician. Background Petty-Fitzmaurice was the only son of Lord Charles Mercer Nair ...

(The Minister of State for Colonial Affairs) on 16 July 1962. It was passed in the House of Lords on 26 July 1962 without any amendments. The bill received

Royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 1 August 1962, from Queen Elizabeth II.

Content

Key areas of the Act included: *''Section 1'' - ceding responsibility from the

*''Section 2'' - effects of citizenship and

British nationality British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

. This section was later repealed by the

British Nationality Act 1981 The British Nationality Act 1981 (c.61) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning British nationality since 1 January 1983. History In the mid-1970s the British Government decided to update the nationality code, which had b ...

. *''First Schedule'' - granting legislative powers to the legislature of Trinidad and Tobago

References

{{Trinidad and Tobago topics Independence acts in the Parliament of the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1962 1962 in politics 1962 in international relations History of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago–United Kingdom relations Trinidad and Tobago and the Commonwealth of Nations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations

Background to enactment

Content

See also

References