Picture by Daniel Guerin.
BAILIFF Geoffrey Rowland last night warned of the pitfalls of a written constitution.
Speaking at the Workers’ Educational Association Guernsey Raymond Falla Memorial lecture, he outlined the constitutional relationships within the Bailiwick, with the Crown, the UK and Europe.
In a wide-ranging talk that mostly examined how these had developed, Mr Rowland also expressed doubts about the likelihood of a Channel Island federation and said he never expected the UK would use powers to legislate for Guernsey. Mr Rowland (pictured) said that the current flexibility in the constitutional relationship with the UK had suited Guernsey extremely well.
‘I don’t think there’s anything greatly wrong with our constitution, you don’t see many people queuing up at the airport or White Rock to get out of here,’ he said. The relationship with the UK evolved quietly but persistently. It was unique, he said.
‘It’s full of anomalies, peculiarities, anachronisms, but having lived with it for 16 years as a Law Officer, and taken an interest in it for many years before that, I think it’s important that it does have flexibility,’ said Mr Rowland.
‘Some people talk about a written constitution. I’m not here to argue the merits of that, but I go back to the Kilbrandon report, which I believe holds good on that point.’
The 1973 Kilbrandon Report contains the most recent statement of the constitutional relationship between the UK and the Crown Dependencies.
It acknowledged that there were areas of uncertainty in the existing relationship, which itself was complex, and did not purport to draw up a fully authoritative statement.
‘If we tried to reduce our constitution into writing, how many thousands of hours would be spent talking about those anomalies and peculiarities?’ said Mr Rowland.
He asked what stance a UK civil servant was likely to take if drawing up a written constitution, then suggested that more likely than not it would be a defensive view.
‘Would we get an improvement by reducing it into writing?
‘We’d have to wait and see if that’s the decision of government, but it would be fraught with difficulties.’
He added that completing a written constitution would take a long time.
‘Would you get a UK Government saying, “right, the UK want you to have the same constitution as Jersey, the Isle of Man, Sark and Alderney”. Would you get them to agree?’
Kilbrandon claimed that the UK ultimately had power to legislate for Guernsey.
But Mr Rowland said that most people who have been Crown Officers in the island disagreed.
If it ever happened, arguments over having no representation in Westminster and human rights aspects would come to the fore.
‘I, as Bailiff, would never, ever, see that right being exercised and it would certainly be challenged in court, I have no doubt about that,’ said Mr Rowland.
Taking questions after the speech, Mr Rowland said he doubted there would ever be a Channel Island Federation.
It would be very difficult to agree to the constitution of a parliament: where it sat, how seats were allocated and how Sark and Alderney were dealt with, he said.
The problems of reaching agreement were shown by the fact that Guernsey and Jersey could not agree on a common court of appeal, he said.
‘How would it work in practise? The answer is it would be very difficult.’
Mr Rowland also used his speech to defend the Law Officers against criticisms by some advocates that they were ‘acting as patsies of London’.
‘They stubbornly stand up for the islands, of that I’m in no doubt,’ said Mr Rowland.
Article posted on 22nd May, 2008 - 2.29pm
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