The States of Guernsey (), officially the States of Deliberation and sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of the British Crown dependency of

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guernsey also apply to

Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...

and

Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...

(the other component parts of the

Bailiwick of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Bailliage dé Guernési'') is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France, comprising several of the Channel Islands. It has a total land area of ...

, along with Herm) as "Bailiwick-wide legislation" with the consent of the governments of those islands. All enactments of the States of Guernsey apply to

Herm Herm (Guernésiais: , ultimately from Old Norse 'arm', due to the shape of the island, or Old French 'hermit') is one of the -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, ...

as well as Guernsey, since Herm is directly administered by the Bailiwick of Guernsey. When constituted as a

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

, it is officially called the States of Deliberation. When constituted as an

electoral college An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

, it is officially called the ''

States of Election The States of Election has only one purpose, to elect a new Jurat to the Courts in Guernsey. The first record of a Jurat in Guernsey was in 1179, and a roll of honour listing Jurats since 1299 is in the Royal Court. A Royal Commission of 1607 i ...

''. The executive functions of the States are carried out using a committee system, comprising one Senior Committee, six Principal Committees and several other Committees Boards, Authorities and Commissions. Legislation passed by the States is termed ''Laws'' (''Loi''), which take effect in the island by

Order-in-Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

. Minor and secondary legislation does not require the assent of the King-in-Council and are known as ''Ordinances'' (''Ordonnances'').

History

The legislature derives its name from the '' estates'' (French: ''états'') of

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

, the Church and the people from whom the assembly was originally summoned. The

Jurat The ''jurats'' () are lay people in Guernsey and Jersey who act as judges of fact rather than law, though they preside over land conveyances and liquor licensing. In Alderney, however, the jurats are judges of both fact and law (assisted by thei ...

s, representing the Crown, and the representatives of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

were replaced in the constitutional reforms following the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when the office of Conseiller was introduced. Until 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 was abolished before the General Election held that year. The 10

Douzaine The Bailiwick of Guernsey includes the island of Guernsey and other islands such as Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, and Lihou. Each parish was established, probably in the 11th century, as a religious area, each having its parish church ...

representatives (representing

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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. Following a 2018 referendum, the whole island now forms a single constituency, rather than voting for separate parishes previously, returning 38 members by

plurality-at-large voting Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...

, beginning with the 2020 election.

Firsts

First female member of the States * Marie Randall First female Deputy Chief Minister of Guernsey *

Heidi Soulsby Heidi Soulsby MBE, is a politician from the island of Guernsey. She has been a deputy of the States of Guernsey since the 2012 Guernsey general election and was the First female Deputy Chief Minister of Guernsey. She was made a Member of the M ...

Composition

The States of Deliberation consists of 38 People's Deputies, elected every four years from a single island-wide constituency by

, each voter being allowed to cast up to 38 votes. Before the 2020 election, the electoral system was multi-member districts by

plurality block voting Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...

, 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 The States of Alderney (French: ''États d'Aurigny'') is the parliament/council and the legislature of Alderney, part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The origin of the States is unknown, but it has operated from the medieval period. The States of ...

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, 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 In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

) and the Comptroller (Solicitor General) both appointed by the monarch. The

Bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

presides over the States.

Committee system

Guernsey's government operates on a committee system. A similar system used to be used in the neighbouring bailiwick, Jersey; however, this was abolished and replaced with a ministerial government in 2005. The Senior Committee is known as the Policy & Resources Committee. It is the leading body and in charge of co-ordination of policy and other States work. It oversees the functioning of the States and also has responsibilities for external affairs. The President of the Committee is often termed "Chief Minister" by the local media, as they are perceived to represent the island's government, especially abroad. They are elected by States Members and hold a term of office expiring at the next general election. The next election will be in June 2025. The remaining Principal Committees are listed below: The remaining committees, all chaired by States Members, are the Development and Planning Authority, Transport Licensing Authority, Overseas Aid & Development Commission, States' Trading Supervisory Board, States Assembly & Constitution Committee, Scrutiny Management Committee and the Civil Contingencies Authority.

Recent elections

The last general election was on 7 October 2020. * 2020 results * 2016 results * 2012 results * 2008 results * 2004 results

Current deputies and representatives

Constitution of the States of Deliberation : Deputies Alderney representatives * Steve Roberts * Alex Snowdon

References

External links

* {{Guernsey elections Politics of Guernsey Government of Guernsey