House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands

There was no attempt to impose any form of local legislature prior to the British taking control of the islands in 1672. But in 1735 the Governor of the Leeward Islands, William Matthew, sought to establish executive councils and legislative assemblies in Virgin Gorda and Tortola. The assemblies were to consist of nine members, elected by the free inhabitants of the islands. After the elections, it was determined that the governor had no such power and therefore the assemblies were ultra vires and were never called into session (although the councils did take up their duties).[4]

During the 18th and 19th centuries the British Virgin Islands had a number of legislative councils, but these proved to be largely ineffective, and the last one was formally dissolved in 1901.

House of Assembly (the former Legislative Council) building, the High Court is located upstairs.

Between 1747 and 1754 Lieutenant Governor James Purcell pressed for some form of formal government in the British Virgin Islands, but in this he was rebuffed by Governor George Thomas. But by 1773 the new Leeward Islands Governor, Sir Ralph Payne, was instructed to introduce a system of representative government in the Virgin Islands, consisting of a governor, an appointed council, and an elected assembly.[5] On 30 November 1773 legislation was introduced which provided for, amongst other things, an eleven-member assembly (eight for Tortola, two for Virgin Gorda and one for Jost Van Dyke), with various qualification to vote or to stand.[6] The assembly opened on 31 January 1774, but got off to an inauspicious start. After an impassioned speech from Governor Payne about the need for immediate action to pass laws for good government, the legislature (consisting of plantation owners) almost immediately fell into stalemate with the governor over a tax bill and confirmation of land titles. Accordingly, the legislature refused to pass legislation to establish a court system. Powers were eventually conferred on the governor to create a court system directly, which led to further mistrust and division between the plantation owners in the legislature on the one hand, and the governor and the newly appointed judge on the other.

In around 1783 the legislature was reconstituted with 15 members and districts were redrawn, and a certain amount of détente emerged. In 1815 (after the abolition of the trade in African slaves, but prior to the abolition of slavery itself) the territory was inhabited by an increasing number of free blacks who petitioned for civil rights, and in 1818 their request was granted and free black men were permitted to vote, although they could still only vote for white landowners. It appears that this may not have been so much of a great leap forward in civil rights so much as an attempt to shore up interest in the legislature, which was being increasingly abandoned and marginalised by the plantation owners at this time.[7]

By 1867, when the Territory was struck by a fierce hurricane, "all pretence to the operation of a Legislative Council in which there were elected representatives came to an end".[8] Legislation was passed reconstituting the assembly again so that it consisted of three official members and three appointed members, but with no elections. In 1871 a single federal colony consisting of all the Leeward Islands was created, and tellingly the Virgin Islands was not given a seat at this assembly. In 1902 the Federal Council formally abolished the local Virgin Islands legislature and council, neither of which had met for many years by that time. It was grimly noted that the legislature "had practically nothing of any real importance ... to legislate about and the functions of the executive was the maintenance of law and order and the collection of taxes from miserably poor people".[9]

The first Legislative Council of modern times was formed in 1950 pursuant to the Constitution Act, 1950. It had eight members: two ex officio members, two nominated members and four elected members. Requirements for standing for election included income, property, and a deposit (forfeited with failure to garner a certain percentage of votes).[10] The four members were elected in 1950 on a Territory-wide basis.

In 1954 the existing constitutional provisions were replaced by the Constitution and Elections Ordinance, 1954[11] which expanded the elected membership to six, divided amongst five district seats (with Road Town having two representatives).

The 1967 Constitution expanded the elected membership to seven, with each district having a single representative. In 1977 the Elections Ordinance increased the number of district seats to nine.

Pursuant to the Elections Act, 1994 the British Virgin Islands introduced four Territorial at-large seats in addition to the nine district seats, making a total of 13 elected members to sit alongside the two ex officio members (the Speaker and the Attorney General). The introduction of the Territorial at-large seats was bitterly opposed by the Chief Minister of the day, Lavity Stoutt.[12]

Qualifications to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly are now regulated by article 65 of the Constitution (there are no similar restrictions in relation to the two appointed members). Broadly speaking this requires that the candidate must be a second generation Belonger, and must either be domiciled in the British Virgin Islands or have completed a period of residence.

In order to be elected as a member of the House, a person must either be a Virgin Islander (as defined) over the age of 21, and otherwise qualified to vote in the Territory. For these purposes a "Virgin Islander" means a Belonger who is either:[14]

1. a person who was born in the British Virgin Islands to a mother or father who was a British Overseas Territories Citizen (by birth or descent);
2. a person who was born in the British Virgin Islands to a mother or father who was also a Belonger (by birth or descent); or
3. a person who was born outside of the British Virgin Islands to a mother or father who was also a Belonger (by birth or descent) provided that one of his or grandparents also belonged to the British Virgin Islands by birth.

A person may also be qualified to stand for election if they were qualified to stand under the previous Constitution on the date of the last election before it was repealed.[15] The restrictions under the earlier constitution were much more relaxed (a person only needed to be a Belonger, over the age of 21, and resident and domiciled in the British Virgin Islands[16]), and preserving them was intended to preserve the right of any sitting members of the House from accidentally being disqualified. However, the wording used suggests that any person who was so qualified on the day the 2007 constitution came into effect remains so qualified (i.e. any Belonger who was born before 1986 and was resident and domiciled in the British Virgin Islands on the date the 2007 constitution came into effect).

However, a person shall be disqualified from being elected (regardless of where they are born) if they are not domiciled in the British Virgin Islands unless:

1. in the case of a person who has never been domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, they have resided in the Territory for at least 5 years immediately before the date of their nomination for election; or
2. in the case of a person who was formerly domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, but have lived outside of the Territory for at least 10 years, they have resided in the Territory for at least 3 years immediately before the date of their nomination for election.

The High Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine any questions relating to the eligibility of a person to stand for election as a member.[17] An application to the court may be made by any person who is (a) a registered voter in the relevant district, (b) a person who was a candidate in that district, or (c) the Attorney General.

There are no residency or similar restrictions as to who may stand for any particular district seat. Accordingly, a candidate could stand for election in a district where they did not live, and, theoretically, had never been to.

A person is disqualified from being elected as a member of the House if:[18]

1. they hold any public office;
2. they are declared bankrupt in any country;
3. they are adjudged to be of unsound mind in any country;
4. a sentence of death has been imposed upon them, or if they have served a term of imprisonment of at least 12 months within the previous five years;[19]
5. they are disqualified or suspended under the laws of the British Virgin Islands relating to elections offences; or
6. they are a party to, or a partner in a firm, or director or manager of company, with any contract with the Government for a public service (unless they have published a notice in the Gazette or other British Virgin Islands newspaper disclosing the nature of the contract and their interest).

Qualifications to be registered as a voter in the British Virgin Islands are now regulated by article 68 of the Constitution. A person is qualified to vote if they are a Belonger aged 18 or older, and are resident in either the British Virgin Islands or the United States Virgin Islands.

However a person is disqualified from voting if:

1. they are adjudged to be of unsound mind under British Virgin Islands law;
2. a sentence of death has been imposed upon them,[19] or if they are serving a term of imprisonment of at least 12 months; or
3. they are disqualified or suspended under the laws of the British Virgin Islands relating to elections offences.

Persons are registered to vote in the Territorial district which they reside within.