BVI Lawyers Up for High-Stakes UK Constitutional Talks

The Virgin Islands is strengthening its legal team ahead of crucial constitutional negotiations with the United Kingdom (UK), securing the services of internationally respected public law and governance expert Sir Jeffrey Jowell, KC of Blackstone Chambers in London to support the Attorney General’s Chambers.

The move comes as the Territory prepares for months of negotiations expected to begin in early July and conclude by December, with Premier and Minister of Finance Hon. Dr Natalio Wheatley expressing confidence that the Virgin Islands will secure many of the constitutional changes it is seeking.

The comments were made during a Public Engagement Session on Constitutional Review Negotiations held on Virgin Gorda this evening, May 26.

According to Wheatley, negotiations will begin with a UK delegation led by a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) official travelling to the Virgin Islands, where discussions will focus on a range of constitutional matters.

Following those talks, legal teams on both sides will undertake drafting work and agree to constitutional language before a second round of negotiations takes place in the United Kingdom, likely in September, involving the UK Minister for Overseas Territories.

“We’ll get the language agreed with the United Kingdom,” Wheatley explained, adding that further negotiations would target “some of the weightier issues”.

The Premier said the timeline is ambitious but necessary as the Territory seeks changes across critical areas of governance, accountability and the balance of powers under the proposed new Constitution.

The Virgin Islands last received major constitutional reform in 2007, with the current Constitution coming into force that year. Nearly two decades later, the Territory is pursuing another significant overhaul aimed at modernising governance arrangements.

Strategic Move

Wheatley said the decision to hire external legal counsel was strategic, allowing constitutional experts to focus exclusively on negotiations while working under the direction of the Attorney General’s Chambers and designated government officials.

“That’s where we took the decision of an external counsel who could focus solely on this task,” he said.

Sir Jeffrey Jowell, KC previously assisted both the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands with constitutional negotiations, bringing extensive experience in overseas territory governance matters.

Despite acknowledging the challenging timeline, Wheatley struck an optimistic tone about the outcome.

“We expect to get a lot of what we ask for,” the Premier stated.

The confidence comes as the Virgin Islands enters what could become one of its most consequential constitutional negotiations since 2007, with proposed changes expected to touch key aspects of the Territory’s future governance and relationship with the United Kingdom.

In late April government announced that, a 10-member Constitutional Negotiating Committee (CNC) has been established to lead discussions with the Government of the United Kingdom on the reform and modernisation of the Territory’s Constitution.

The members are: Hon. Julian Fraser, RA, Deputy Premier and Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change; Hon. Kye Rymer, Minister for Communications and Works; Hon. Sharie de Castro, Minister for Education, Youth Affairs and Sports; Hon. Marlon A. Penn, Leader of the Opposition; Hon. Ronnie W. Skelton, Member of the Opposition; Mrs. Lisa Penn-Lettsome, Chair, Constitutional Review Commission; Mrs. Maya Barry, Member, Constitutional Review Commission; Hon. Dawn Smith, Attorney General; and Hon. Mr. Justice Gerard Farara, KC, Chairman, 2005 Constitutional Review Commission and Constitutional Law Expert.