Turks & Caicos Chief Minister reports on constitutional talks

Chief Minister Misick, Lord David Treisman, Jeffrey
Hall (L-R)

Chief Minister Misick shakes hands with Lord Treisman

Final round-table talks on constitutional modernisation

UK delegation and TCI delegation

Wednesday, October 5, 2005

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks & Caicos Islands: The Chief Minister of Turks and Caicos Islands, Michael Misick, has announced that the talks with the United Kingdom Government on constitutional reform have successfully concluded with an historic agreement for an advanced constitution for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The process of Constitutional Review started in April 2002 with the establishment of the Constitutional Modernisation Review Body appointed by then Governor, Mervyn Jones. The Review Body was chaired by Daniel Malcolm and included attorneys Wendal Swann, Ariel Misick, QC, OBE, Norman Saunders Jr. and Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson as members. The Report of the Review Body was presented to the Governor in September 2002.

According to Chief Minister Misick, “tripartite talks between the Turks and Caicos Government, the Opposition and United Kingdom Government officials have been ongoing for a number of years now and it is regrettable that at the last minute the opposition People’s Democratic Movement decided not to attend the final talks in London and as such abandon the quest for an advancement of our constitution.” He went on to say, “the negotiations have produced a modern constitution for the people of Turks and Caicos that reflects a modern relationship between the two countries.”

The next stage of the process will be the drafting of the new constitution by officials of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The draft document will be provided to the Government and Opposition for their comments. Afterwards, the draft will be circulated among the general public so that they might familiarize themselves with the provisions of the text. This consultative process will be concluded by a debate on the new constitution in the Legislative Council.

It is anticipated that most of the changes will take effect early next year.

The Official Delegation to London was headed by Chief Minister Michael Misick and included Jeffery Hall, Minister of Immigration, Housing and Labour, Carlos Simmons OBE, QC – Legal Counsel, Mr. R. Don-Hue Gardiner, Mr. Norman Hamilton, Special Advisor to the Chief Minister, Mr. Mark A. Fulford Personal Assistant to the Chief Minister and Ms. Tracy A. Knight, the Turks and Caicos’ Representative in London.

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