CIG seeks feedback on constitution changes

| 12/12/2019 | 21 Comments
Cayman News Service
Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly

(CNS): Even though government has already steered its motion through the country’s parliament, as it will now be called, adopting the constitutional changes agreed with the UK, it is still seeking input from the public. The package of changes has been agreed by the Cayman government, the UK and all members of the opposition, eliminating the need for a public vote. But the premier’s office has said it is still important the people scrutinise the planned changes and ask any questions they may have.

The revised Constitutional Order is expected to go through the formal process in the United Kingdom and be confirmed by the Privy Council in February 2020.

The package of changes was arrived at following the constitutional discussions with the United Kingdom, which began last year after the UK parliament passed a piece of legislation which directly impacted domestic policy in Cayman in an area of devolved responsibility. An amendment to the Sanctions and Anti-money Laundering Bill in London included a direct order that all British Overseas Territories with a financial services industry had to introduce a public beneficial ownership registry by the end of next year.

This was described by the CIG as constitutional overreach and it objected to the unilateral action whereby the UK parliament was seeking to legislate for the BOTs. The government saw this as a breach of convention, given that responsibility for domestic policy has been devolved to the territories under the terms of their respective constitutions.

The Cayman Islands government asked for talks to seek safeguards that confirm it has autonomous capacity in respect of domestic affairs, and that the UK will not seek in the future to legislate, directly or indirectly, for Cayman without, at a minimum, consultation with government.

See the constitutional changes and relevant correspondence on the government website.


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Category: Laws, Politics

Comments (21)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Shall we contact our District Counsel/Councellors…or email our MLA, oh wait, don’t have those.

  2. BeaumontZodecloun says:

    Ahhhh! I’m kind of mad about this. I read the proposed amendments. I’m sure a lot of us did. Why does everything have to be expressed in legalese and bullshitese? We aren’t stupid. Just lay out what you want to do and how much it will cost, and we’ll talk about it and advise you!!

    Oh, P.S., you all have to create a medium in which we can all… collectively… advise you.

    NO! don’t laugh!
    You don’t KNOW how united we can be. We are just spreading our wings.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    I’d really love to see a Governor with an iron fist and a little thunder in his step. The islands need to be brought back to some place of normalcy and uprightness. We are losing everything about us. Our entire government is a mess. The departments are a mess. There is corruption in every corner. We need to enact the SIPL.
    We need help and rather sooner than later.

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    • Anonymous says:

      They got rid of him and quickly.

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    • David. S. says:

      Oh CNS, where did you get the idea that this govt ever was seeking input from the public? That is NOT TRUE!

      It only now after a knowedgeable Caymanian called them out on their actions springing this constitutional change on us that there is even a remote mention of inviting public input, so please CNS, donot find excuses for these people already decieving the masses.

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    • Anonymous says:

      What is SIPL?

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      • Anonymous says:

        Standards in Public Life Law. Required by the constitution so that all potential conflicts of interest and insider deals by politicians and decision makers can be readily seen. The government refuses to pass it, despite it being required, lending credence to the perception that corruption is flourishing behind the scenes.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Perhaps the most important aspect is that it criminalizes false reporting. Ie.Jail time for institutionalized quid pro quo patronage.

          • Anonymous says:

            Our laws already have jail time for that. It is called official corruption, not that anyone would notice…

  4. Anonymous says:

    This is just being done so that they can tell the UK that the public did not object when given an opportunity, and therefore, the politicians were right that the changes were uncontroversial when unanimously passed in the LA. It allows them to say ‘see, there was no uproar when we invited feedback’. That’s all, so carry on as you were.

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  5. Anonymous says:

    They need feedback on more than the constitution… For example
    1. The idiocy of the new Customs system.
    2. The stress and delay that is caused to the public when Police are trying to direct traffic.
    3. Customer service at all government services.
    4. Where they should put those little outhouses at SMB.
    5. How far they need to kick all those chair vendors cluttering up the beach by SMB.
    Just to name a few…

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Let us legislate and consult later. The world is reading this mess.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    Fire! Ready! Aim!

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Typical arrogance from Premier Alden McLaughlin asking for permission after the fact instead of consulting with citizens about the scale and scope of constitutional amendments before anything is agreed with the UK.

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  9. Anonymous says:

    We do not want these changes. In fact, we want and need the governor to exercise more power when our own government fails us.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Exactly.

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      • Anonymous says:

        But, let us hope he has more balls than Roper! He’s so afraid of doing something, so he does nothing.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Who are you and where are you from? That way we can know who “we” is because every real Caymanian I speak with has no concerns with these changes. Would prefer to be consulted with before hand but WE don’t mind the changes.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Cayman. I have been a part of this soil for long enough to know we can get better results for the good of Cayman from any Governor, then we can from most of our so called politicians. I am old enough to remember when Jamaica was a lot like Cayman is now. Go check it out and then (if you make it back safe) tell me who you really want in charge around here.

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  10. The Constitutional Critic says:

    Perfect display for the ruling style Alden loves

    Passing the motion in the house and THEN and only then asking people for input
    as if they are going to alter anything now
    This is exactly what he would have done with the Cruise Berthing Facility if CPR had not been successful in collecting the signatures

    The man is nothing but arrogant and dismissive of any criticism and thinks keeping people informed is a waste of his time

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