Attorneys General meet In BVI For 9th Annual Conference

Developments in the Caribbean legal sector, law reform and revision, the relationship between the United Kingdom Overseas Territories and Her Majesty's Government, the United States and Canada, human rights issues, constitutional change and regional drug cooperation. These were just some of the issues on the agenda of the 9th Annual Conference of Attorneys General of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories, which opened at the Prospect Reef Hotel Tuesday morning.

The March 28th-30th conference was attended by Attorneys General from Anguilla, Montserrat, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and the United Kingdom and Wales, the Head of the Overseas Territories Department in Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, an official from the British High Commission in Barbados and the Deputy Legal Advisers from the United States and Canada. Members of the local Bar Association, Resident Judge Kenneth Benjamin, Deputy Governor Elton Georges and Ministers of Government Hon. Eileene Parsons and Julian Fraser, also attended the opening ceremony.

The Chairman was Barbados-based Mr. Ian Christie, Legal Adviser for the Overseas Territories UK. In his welcome remarks, BVI Governor His Excellency Frank Savage noted that the office of Attorney General is one of the most important in each of the Overseas Territories. Attorneys General provide legal advice to the Governor, Chief Minister and Ministers of government as well as to the civil service, they are members of the Executive and Legislative Councils and the Head of the Attorney General's Chambers. "You are also all opinion-formers and prominent citizens in each of your territories; each of your clients respect your impartial advice and integrity; in my experience, there is no more important relationship for the Governor than the one with his or her Attorney General," he stated Governor Savage spoke of his relationship with the then Attorney General of Montserrat Gertel Thom and the former BVI Attorney General Dancia Penn, whom he said were both dedicated to their profession and to their country.

"The Overseas Territories," he said, "do not have much in common, other than the Union Flag, which we all proudly fly." He said what we do have in common is that we are all small states, especially vulnerable to natural disaster and attractive prey to the criminal fraternity. His Excellency noted that the Caribbean has never been under such threat from drug traffickers, illegal immigrants and sophisticated white-collar crime and money laundering. He said those Overseas Territories in offshore financial services are also under intense pressure from the international community, which seeks to protect its own revenue base without due regard for what these draconian measures will mean in some of the smaller territories.

The BVI Governor said he hoped the conference would look at some of these issues and go back to the United Kingdom with a message that the international community needs to put in place measures to help those territories whose revenue base will be affected. He said he is aware of the pressures Attorneys General are under as the Overseas Territories face more and more requests and demands from Her Majesty's Government, the European Union, the OECD and the wider international community, to bring local laws into line with those adopted elsewhere. H.E the Governor also noted the mounting requests for more information and the constant workload of drafting new legislation and amending old laws as well as the requirement to provide immediate advice on a whole range of issues. "I hope this conference will give you the opportunity to discuss some of these critical issues and to see if there is scope for greater cooperation between the Overseas Territories," he concluded. BVI Chief Minister the Honourable Ralph T. O'Neal spoke to the importance of the conference. He said it is an essential way of getting the Attorneys General together to exchange views on matters of mutual interest to all the territories. "It is very necessary in this day and age that these officers should know each other and be able to consult with each other so that there can be direct communication with each other as the need arises and I believe this happens very often," he stated.

He added that it is also very essential for officers from the U.K to visit the territories as often as possible to get acquainted not only with the Ministers and the Governor, but also to see at first hand, the places and the people, that they would be better able to advice their Ministers responsible for the territories. Chief Minister O'Neal said similarly, there should be visits by the Elected Representatives from the territories to the United Kingdom, so that there can be frank exchanges with the "people who sit in Whitehall". The BVI leader commented on what he sees is an improved relationship between Britain and her Overseas Territories. This was one of the issues discussed in the White Paper, which was published a year ago, that there should be a new approach when dealing with the Overseas Territories. "And it is my opinion, it's just my humble opinion, that there is a real attempt to do this," Hon. O'Neal said. "Here in the British Virgin Islands, I have seen a change in the relationship between the Chief Minister and the Governor and the Chief Minister and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office." The Chief Minister said he hopes this change will continue. "I am not afraid to say that the relationship between His Excellency and myself is very good; I have no problems...the relationships are very good and I'm sure that they will continue," he confirmed.

The BVI leader especially welcomed the delegates from the United States, saying because of the territory's proximity to the U.S Virgin Islands, it is important for the BVI to be good neighbours. "And I would like to express my thanks for the cooperation and assistance we receive from the United States in drug interdiction and other matters with our law enforcement agencies." According to him, if there ever were to be a World War III, it would be the war on drugs and the Overseas Territories, though small in size, must do their part in order that the drug lords will not rule them. Chief Minister O'Neal said he hoped that the Attorneys General will impress on the conference that the interest of the small islands must be appreciated and considered and must be just as paramount in the new partnership as the interest of the bigger players. The Honourable Cherno Jallow was only a few weeks ago appointed Attorney General of the BVI. He said the presence of the Right Honourable Lord Williams of Mostyn, Attorney General of England and Wales, attests to the close and continued excellent relationship between Her Majesty's Government and the Overseas Territories, "beyond the political sphere". The Attorney General said at a time when pressures in the international financial regulatory system are growing at a phenomenal rate, it is important for the Overseas Territories to keep attuned to these developments in order to properly and continually modernize our own financial systems and the relevant regulatory services, without doing harm to the fabric of our small economies.

"But above all, Mr. Chairman, we must be innovative and lead the way, so that our efforts are not only recognized, but emulated as well...and hope that the international community will give recognition to our efforts and initiatives," Hon. Jallow stated. He said while oftentimes the Overseas Territories are accused of not doing enough, with the restrictions and limitations under which they work, they all do their best to cooperate with the international community. The BVI's top legal official said as we develop, our individual Constitutions need to be reviewed to accommodate the realities of the changes in our communities and this must, as has always been the case in the past, be in the spirit of partnership and cooperation. The feature address at the opening ceremony of the Attorneys General Conference was delivered by the Attorney General of England and Wales, Lord Williams of Mostyn. He endorsed the comments of His Excellency the Governor to have more cooperative relationships. "I have come...to listen and learn. We know perfectly well that there is no monopoly of wisdom in Whitehall...and the key must be, I think, to cooperative working." Lord Williams also agreed with the appeal by the Honourable Chief Minister for the international community to listen to the voice of the "small man" and sanctioned the suggestion from the Honourable Attorney General of the BVI for law officers to cooperate with one another. He suggested that one way of engendering closer cooperation is by having informal exchanges of Attorneys General from the various territories.

However he noted: "Cooperation is a two-way street. It is not cooperation by diktat. It is cooperation by understanding and informed discussion." According to Britain's Chief Legal Officer, the point of the meeting was to deal with issues that are becoming more focussed and more urgent by the moment. "As the Chief Minister said, the threat of drugs and international money laundering is international; it doesn't attack only small jurisdictions, it attacks all our jurisdictions, large, powerful or not; we plainly have a duty to the societies we serve to cooperate," he said. Lord Mostyn also spoke of other developments in the way for Attorneys to deal with, including what he referred to as the most critical constitutional reform of the past century, the introduction of the Human Rights Act. This Act comes fully into effect October 2nd, 2000.

He said these are issues for lawyers to grapple with and to enjoy the challenge of considering. "All I can say to my colleagues as Attorneys General, if there is anything by way of assistance that you want from my office, you have only to ask," the U.K and Wales A.G concluded. He said: "The invitation which I gave earlier of informal cooperation and meetings is a real one. I can certainly say on behalf of Her Majesty's Government that we wish to be as fully, abundantly supportive as we possibly can."