Offshore finance: how safe is the constitutional safety net?

Bates, St John (2001) Offshore finance: how safe is the constitutional safety net? In: The Isle of Man Examiner Business News, 2001-09-18 - 2001-09-25.

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Abstract

There are essentially three aspects to the constitutional relationship between the dependencies and the Crown. There is the executive government relationship, which in pathological terms raises the question of when and on what basis the Crown (in the effective form of the UK Government) can act in an executive capacity in the dependencies. There is the legislative relationship, which raises the question of when and on what basis the Crown (again in the effective form of the UK Government) can legislate for the dependencies, independent of their consent to the legislation. Finally, there is the judicial relationship. In the case of each of the dependencies, the final court of appeal in respect of questions of the domestic law of the dependency and relevant domestic law of the United Kingdom is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. My comments will be devoted to the executive and the legislative relationships, although obviously the judicial relationship can have a significant bearing on both of them.