When the Anguilla
Revolution broke out in March 1967, Anguilla was a part of the Associated State
of St Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla. The
legal system in effect at that moment was the common law of England and of the
Associated State, as supplemented by the statutes enacted by the St Kitts House
of Assembly. Anguilla at that time was
not only an integral part of the Associated State, but also shared in common
institutions of the nine-country Associated States, and the world-wide
Commonwealth of Nations headed by Queen Elizabeth II. The common law of Anguilla was supplemented by
laws and regulations made by the House of Assembly in St Kitts, to which Anguilla
elected one representative. The laws and
regulations that applied in Anguilla in 1967 could all be looked up in one
series of books.[1]
The ‘Laws of St Kitts Nevis and Anguilla’
contained all of the statutes that applied to Anguilla, save for a few passed by
the House of Assembly in the intervening years before 1967.[2]
The
1967 Revolution. The
Anguilla Revolution was to fundamentally change Anguilla’s legal framework. On 8 March 1967 Government House at Landsome
Estate burned to the ground, and the St Kitts Warden fled to Basseterre. On 29 May, at a meeting in Burroughs Park,[3] the crowd voted by a show
of hands to expel the St Kitts policemen from the island. They left the Park in procession. They marched to Police Headquarters and
ordered the St Kitts police stationed in Anguilla to leave by 10:00 the
following morning. On 30 May the
officers were advised that a ‘plane was ready to take them to St Kitts. They were all disarmed and expelled and sent
back to St Kitts. From that point on,
all central government trappings as they had extended to Anguilla were brought
to an end. The St Kitts Magistrate was
no longer permitted to visit Anguilla and to dispense justice in the
Magistrate’s Court. The High Court Judge
from St Kitts was no longer permitted to visit and to hold court in Anguilla[4] as had occurred every year
since 1825, the year when Anguilla had submitted to rule from St Kitts. Only a limited number of laws passed by the
legislature in St Kitts were ever to be applied to Anguilla again.[5]
On
31 May 1967, the Anguillians established a Peace-keeping Committee[6] to manage the island’s
affairs. This Committee and its
successor Councils carried out all of the executive functions of government. There was no attempt to set up a rival
legislature to the St Kitts House of Assembly.[7] The situation was not to change until the
British Parliament passed the Anguilla Act of 1971 and made provision for the
Commissioner to be able to make laws for the island. The result was that no substantive laws were
made in Anguilla until those made by the Commissioner the year 1971. The first laws enacted by the House of
Assembly of Anguilla were passed in the year 1976.
The
first legal instrument of a sort to be passed in Anguilla after the Revolution
began was the referendum on secession from St Kitts of 11 July 1967.[8] A referendum not held under a governing
statute is not strictly a law, but it may have legal implications and
consequences, especially when it is acted on. By this public act, Anguilla ceased for all
time to be administered as a part of the Associated State. A further step in legitimising the Revolution
was the adoption of a Constitution. The
Peace-keeping Committee recruited Professor Roger Fisher[9] of Harvard University to
help with its drafting. He produced an
eleven-section Constitution which provided for an Anguilla Council with full legislative
and executive powers. The members of the
First Anguilla Council were named in the Constitution.[10] They were to hold office until elections were
held not later than July 1968.
The
Peace-keeping Committee set about arranging the first elections under the new
Fisher Constitution. When nominations
closed on nomination day, 17 October 1967, five of Ronald Webster’s candidates
stood unopposed. They were declared to
be duly elected councillors.[11] They took their seats as the Second Anguilla
Council on 21 October.
In
early 1968, the British sent an adviser, Tony Lee, to assist the Anguillians in
running the island’s affairs. He was to
remain for a period of one year. During
this time, the British attempted to negotiate a settlement between the
Anguillian and St Kitts leaders that would preserve the integrity of the
Associate State. They failed to resolve
the crisis. The Anguillians were adamant
that they would accept nothing short of complete separation from St Kitts. The Kittitians were equally adamant that the
Revolution was illegal and that they would accept nothing short of the
agreement of the Anguillians to return to the fold of the Associated State. The British were caught in a quandary of their
own making. The West Indies Act
of the UK Parliament of 1967[12] prohibited the UK government
from imposing a solution. The Act
prohibited the UK from changing the status of any part of an Associated State
without the request and consent of the State legislature. On 30 July new elections were held for the
Third Anguilla Council.[13] Tony Lee left Anguilla on 6 January 1969 when
the year was up. Up to this point, no
laws had been passed in or for Anguilla since the date of the commencement of
the Revolution.
The
next law to take effect in Anguilla was the 1969 Holcombe Constitution. It was adopted by a show of hands in Burroughs
Park on 6 February 1969.[14] It provided for Anguilla to become an
independent Republic. There would be a
President and a Vice President elected nationally. There would also be an Assembly of nine
legislators, two from each of the three constituencies and five elected at
large. The date set for elections to the
legislature was 25 March 1969, while the President and Vice President were to
be elected on 3 April. When nominations
closed on 21 February, Ronald Webster was nominated unopposed and was declared
President of the Republic of Anguilla.[15] On nomination day only six candidates were
nominated, and they were similarly declared elected unopposed.[16]
Temporary
British Administration. On
11 March 1969, the British envoy William Whitlock who had arrived in Anguilla
on a fact-finding mission was expelled. During the early hours of 19 March 1969 some
four hundred British paratroopers brought the Revolution to an end. Their invasion of the island was not opposed,
and not a person was harmed. Tony Lee
returned to govern the island as Commissioner under a British Order in Council
of 18 March.[17]
The Holcombe Constitution was swept
aside and the previous Third Anguilla Council was recognised as the duly
elected representatives of the people.
With
the change of government in London in 1971, the British administration
gradually became more sympathetic to the Anguillian cause. On 27 July 1971, the Anguilla Act of
the British Parliament[18] came into effect. It provided the framework under which the
British would administer the island. Shortly after, on 4 August, the 1971
Constitution[19]
came into effect. It provide for a
Legislative Council of seven members and up to six nominated members. No legislation was enacted in Anguilla during
the year 1971.
In
the early part of 1972 the first laws for Anguilla made in Anguilla were
enacted under the provisions of the 1971 Constitution. There were twenty-six laws in all, covering
such matters as financial administration,[20] police,[21] council elections,[22] marriages,[23] courts,[24] and taxes.[25] These laws were made by the Commissioner “after consultation with the Anguilla Council”
but were not introduced into and debated in any legislative council in the
normal way. This was not a satisfactory
state of affairs, and this early period was marked by disputes between the
members of the Anguilla Council and the British Commissioner.[26]
The
first general elections under the new Constitution were held on 24 July 1972. The Fourth Anguilla Council that resulted
found itself completely without any power. Laws continued to be made by the Commissioner
without reference to any legislative assembly. Laws continued during 1973 to be made by Her
Majesty’s Commissioner “after
consultation with the Anguilla Council”.[27] The situation remained unchanged during 1974
and 1975. The Anguilla Council was
continually unhappy with the arrangement that gave the Commissioner total power
and control. The result was a series of
strikes and other civil unrest during the period of legislation by the
Commissioner.
Modern
Government Begins. The
turbulence was not to be calmed until the British agreed to constitutional
reform, and the 1976 Anguilla Constitution[28] was made on 19 January
and came into effect on 10 February 1976. This provided for the first time for laws to
be made by the Commissioner “with the
advice and consent of the Assembly”. Laws passed from this date were to be introduced
into the Legislative Assembly, and assented to by the Commissioner. These are laws as properly so understood. They would have truly have been made with the
consent of the representatives of the people. The first such proper law to be made in Anguilla’s
history by a legislative assembly turned out to be a humble and insignificant
one, now long forgotten. The Anguilla
Fund and Financial Administration (Repeal) Ordinance, No 1 of 1976 did
nothing more than bring back the old St Kitts Finance and Audit Ordinance of
1965 with such modifications as were necessary to bring it into conformity with
the Constitution of Anguilla. It was
passed by the Legislative Assembly on 13 May 1976. It commences with, what for a lawyer, are the
magical words, “Enacted by the Legislature of Anguilla”.[29] Modern constitutional government had at last
come to Anguilla.
Originally written for the 40th
Anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution Magazine Committee.
[1] The 1964 Edition of the Revised Laws of
St Christopher Nevis and Anguilla had just been published.
[2] All of the laws and
regulations of Anguilla would not be collected in one spot again until the Revised
Edition of the Laws of Anguilla, 2000.
[4] From sometime in the
1930s the Assizes ceased to be held in Anguilla and serious Anguillian crimes
were tried in St Kitts until the Anguilla Revolution: Per Dame Bernice Lake QC in a private
communication to the author.
[5] The Anguilla (Administration) Order 1971,
SI 1971 No 1235, section 15, provided that the statutes of the Associated State
made prior to its commencement date of 4 August 1971 should have effect as laws
of Anguilla. From that date, any
relevant and useful laws made in St Kitts after the date of the Revolution and
prior to the commencement date were adopted with any necessary modifications as
part of the law of Anguilla. The ones
that were not required were specifically repealed at various times in the
following years.
[6] The first members consisted of Walter Hodge
as chairman, Peter Adams, Atlin Harrigan, Alfred Webster, James Baird, John
Rogers, Clifford Rogers, Ronald Webster, Wallace Rey, Camile Connor, Phillip
Lloyd, Charles Fleming, Wallace Richardson, Mac Connor, and Emile Gumbs.
[7] Ronald Webster’s
explanation to the author was that the members of the Committee were convinced
that any laws passed by it would be illegal and unenforceable. They functioned by persuasion, so that, for
example, the customs officers at the ports agreed to collect duties at the
revised rate of one half of the prescribed amounts. The result was that there was no attempt to
amend the customs duties law or any other law during the time of the Republic
and until the Anguilla (Administration) Order of 1971 made provision for the
Commissioner to make laws for Anguilla:
Per Ronald Webster in a private communication to the author.
[9] Professor Fisher’s
involvement grew out of his connection with Professor Leopold Kohr (1909-2004)
who at the time was a lecturer at the University of Puerto Rico and who started
a ‘state founding action’ to draw the world’s attention to the Anguilla crisis.
[10] They were Rev Leonard Carty, Ronald Webster,
John Rogers, Peter Adams, Walter Hodge, Emile Gumbs, and John Hodge.
[11] They were Ronald Webster, Wallace Rey, Hugo
Rey, Collins Hodge, and John Waddington ‘Waddie” Hodge.
[13] This consisted of Ronald Webster, Atlin
Harrigan, Kenneth Hazel, Collins Hodge, John Hodge, Wallace Rey, and Emile
Gumbs.
[15] He chose as his Vice President Campbell
Fleming. His Cabinet was to include John
Webster, a former Secretary of Defence, as Secretary of State for Domestic
Affairs, while Jeremiah Gumbs was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
[16] They were Winston Harrigan, Lucas Wilson,
Uriel Sasso, James Woods, Charles Fleming, and Mac Connor.
[24] The Court of Appeal (Special
Provisions) Ordinance,
No 10 of 1972; and the Supreme Court (Amendment) Ordinance, No 26 of 1972.
[25] The Rum Duty (Anguilla)
(Amendment) Ordinance,
No 13 of 1972; Boat Licensing (Amendment) Ordinance, No 14 of 1972; Liquor
Licensing (Amendment) Ordinance, No 15 of 1972; Export Duty (Amendment)
Ordinance, No 16 of 1972; Stamp Act (Amendment) Ordinance, No 18 of
1972; Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Ordinance, No 19 of 1972; Firearms
(Amendment) Ordinance, No 20 of 1972; Public Pounds (Amendment)
Ordinance, No 21 of 1972; Anguilla Airport (Embarkation) Tax Ordinance,
No 24 of 1972.
[26] First Tony Lee, who had to be replaced, then
John Cumber, AC Watson, William Wallace, and later still in David Le Breton,
who remained in place until after the 1976 Constitution came into effect.
[27] There were eight such laws in all, including
the Anguilla Roads Ordinance, No 5 of 1973; the Anguilla Local
Constables Ordinance, No 6 of 1973; the Accommodation Tax Ordinance,
No 7 of 1973; and the Telecommunication Ordinance, No 8 of 1973.
[29] Let me in conclusion express my gratitude to
Ms Navine Fleming-Kissob of the law chambers of Joyce Kentish & Associates
who kindly made a desk and the necessary research material available for me to
be able to write this article.
