The Cayman Islands is a parliamentary representative democratic dependency. As a British Overseas Territories, Charles III is the head of state. The Premier of the Cayman Islands is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government, legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of the Cayman Islands. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Cayman Islands' physical isolation under early British colonial rule allowed the development of an indigenous set of administrative and legal traditions which were codified into a constitution in 1959. A constitution, which devolved some authority from the United Kingdom to the Cayman Islands Government, was passed by referendum on 20 May 2009. Subsequently, the islands have become largely self-governing.
The Cayman Islands Government is aided by a tradition of restrained civil governance from the United Kingdom.
The Cabinet is appointed by the governor on advice of the premier.The British Crown appoints a governor, who is recruited from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office and serves as the British representative, including his role as the direct representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Daily administration of the islands is conducted by the Cabinet.[1]
The Deputy Governor, and the Attorney General are appointed by the Governor. Responsibility for defence and foreign affairs resides with the United Kingdom; however, the Deputy Governor handles the Portfolio of the Civil Service, and the Cayman Islands Government may negotiate certain bilateral matters directly with foreign governments.
The Governor can exercise complete executive authority through reserve powers afforded to HMG in the Constitution. However, he must consult with the Premier prior to using such powers and must do so in the interest of the Cayman Islands (so long as it doesn't prejudice British interests). He must give royal assent to all legislation, which allows him the power to strike down any law the legislature may see fit for the country. In modern times, the Governor usually allows the country to be run by the Cabinet, and the civil service to be run by the Deputy Governor, who is also the Acting Governor when the Governor is not able to discharge his usual duties for one reason or another. The Governor of the Cayman Islands is Jane Owen and the Deputy Governor is the Honourable Franz Manderson.[2]
List of Ministers:
The unicameral Parliament of the Cayman Islands is presided over by an independent speaker. The Parliament has 19 elected members. Elections are held at the discretion of the Governor at least every 4 years. Members of the Parliament may introduce bills which, if passed, are then approved, returned, or disallowed by the Governor. The UK Government also reserves the right to disallow bills approved by the Governor. The Premier is limited to two consecutive terms, after which the individual who was Premier for two terms must sit out a term before being constitutionally eligible to be Premier again.The Premier is Wayne Panton of the PACT coalition government since 21 April 2021.[3]
The four-tiered judicial system is based on English common law, colonial and local statutes. The Cayman Islands Court of Appeal is the highest court on the Islands, but a final appeal may be heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council sitting in London.
The Grand Court, ranking below the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal, was first created in 1877 as a court of special limited jurisdiction by statute. It was established in its present form by the Grand Court Law of 1975, and became a constitutional court in 1984.[4] It is a superior court of record of first instance, having unlimited jurisdiction in both criminal and civil matters, except when it sits as an appellate court from the lower courts or other tribunals.[5] Grand Court judges sit either alone, or with a jury of either seven or, for murder and money laundering trials, 12.[6]
It consists of three divisions:
The Grand Court is headed by the Chief Justice of the Cayman Islands, who is appointed by the Governor on advice from the Judicial Service Commission. The current Chief Justice is Anthony Smellie.
The Financial Services Division of the Grand Court was created in 2009, and is a specialized commercial court track dealing with complex commercial and financial matters.[7] [8]
| Incumbent | Tenure | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | |||
| Locksley Trevor Moody | 1977 | 1978 | First Chief Justice of Grand Court | |
| Sir John Crampton Summerfield | 1978 | 1988 | ||
| Gerald Collet | 1988 | 1990 | ||
| Sir Denis Malone | 1990 | 1992 | ||
| George Eliot Harre | 1993 | 1998 | ||
| Sir Anthony Smellie | 1998 | |||
Districts:George Town, Bodden Town, West Bay, North Side, East End, Sister Islands (Cayman Brac and Little Cayman)
Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA), Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union (OCTA)
From 2002 to 2005 the Government of the Cayman Islands sent some delinquent youth to Tranquility Bay, a privately operated World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools facility in Jamaica. The government funded the students as they were located in the centre.[9]