Introduction Background The Dispute Politics Home page
 
Peter Caruana - Chief Minister
 
Politics of Gibraltar takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Chief Minister is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Gibraltar is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, with full internal self-government under its 1969 Constitution. The preamble to that Constitution states that "Her Majesty's Government will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes.".

In a referendum on September 10, 1967, the people Gibraltar voted by 12,138 to 44 to reject the transfer of sovereignty to Spain and to remain under British sovereignty. This day is now celebrated as Gibraltar's National Day. In a referendum organised by the Government of Gibraltar on November 7, 2002, voters overwhelmingly rejected the principle that Spain and the United Kingdom should share sovereignty over Gibraltar, by 17,900 votes to 187 on a turnout of almost 88%.

Unlike most British colonies, Gibraltar has not been offered independence by the UK. It has been suggested that this is on the grounds that the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), under which Spain ceded the territory to the British Crown, states that should the British Crown dispose of Gibraltar, it must be first offered to Spain. However the Gibraltar Government has pointed out at the UN that Article 103 of the UN Charter overrules and annuls this "reversionary clause".

Neither the United Kingdom, nor Spain seem keen to test the legal status of Clause X of the Treaty of Utrecht in court. The remaining parts of the treaty which regulated such things as the slave trade, and the transfer of Minorca to the British, have become obsolete.

Spain argues that Gibraltar's status is an anachronism, and that it should become an autonomous community of Spain, similar to Catalonia or the Basque Country. It also argues that the principle of territorial integrity, not self-determination applies, drawing parallels with the British handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

The Gibraltarians continue to assert that they are British not Spanish, and HMG repeatedly states that there can be no change in the status of Gibraltar without their democratic consent. The Gibraltar Government has asked the UN Committee of 24 to refer the issues to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion, but Spain has lobbied against this. The Gibraltar Government has also invited the Committee to visit the territory, but so far, despite no objection from the United Kingdom, they have not.

The Governor

Queen Elizabeth II is represented by the Governor and Commander-in-Chief, presently Sir Robert Fulton. The Governor appoints the leader of the largest party in the unicameral House of Assembly. The Governor is also directly responsible for security and defence, however the Royal Gibraltar Police are now controlled by a Police Authority.

The Executive

The present Chief Minister is the Hon Peter Caruana, QC, of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD), who have been in office since May 17, 1996, and were returned to power in elections held on February 10, 2000, and November 27, 2003. The Leader of the Opposition is the Hon Joe Bossano, of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Pary (GSLP), which is in coalition with the Liberal Party of Dr Joseph Garcia. All parties support Gibraltar's right to self-determination, and reject agreements with Spain on the issue of sovereignty. Traditionally, the GSLP has been more hardline towards Madrid, the GSD more conciliatory, although less so in government than in opposition.

The Legislature

The Gibraltar Parliament consists of fifteen elected members, to be increased to seventeen at the next election, and the Speaker. Under the electoral system of partial bloc voting used since 1969, voters must choose ten candidates, who need necessarily not be from the same party but usually are. The winning candidates are then chosen by simple plurality; consequently, a party seeking to form a government stands ten candidates, and the party that forms the government is usually successful in having all ten of its candidates elected; the remaining seats are usually won by the 'best loser' which then forms the opposition. The last election was held on November 27, 2003. The next election will be held in 2007.