The Legislative Council of the Falkland Islands (sometimes referred to as LEGCO) was the

unicameral legislature Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

from 13 November 1845 until 1 January 2009. The new constitution came into force in 2009 and replaced the Legislative Council with the

Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands The Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands is the unicameral legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The Legislative Assembly replaced the Legislative Council (which had existed since 1845) when the new Con ...

History

Immediately following the United Kingdom's re-establishment of rule over the Falklands in 1833, the islands were under

military law Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...

by Naval Administrators appointed by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

. In the early 1840s, colonists from the UK began to settle on the islands which led

Lord Stanley Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...

, to seek authorisation from

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

to establish a legislative power on the Falklands. On 13 November 1845

Richard Moody Richard Clement Moody Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit of France (13 February 1813 – 31 March 1887) was a British governor, engineer, architect and soldier. He is best known for being the founder and the first Lieutenant ...

, the first

Governor of the Falkland Islands The governor of the Falkland Islands is the representative of the British Crown in the Falkland Islands, acting "in His Majesty's name and on His Majesty's behalf" as the islands' ''de facto'' head of state in the absence of the British monarch ...

, formally inaugurated the Legislative Council in the newly founded town of

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

. An Executive Council having been inaugurated on 2 April 1845.

Suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

was limited, with much of the membership of the Legislative Council being appointed by the Governor. There were only minor changes made to the Legislative Council over the next century, but in 1948 the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

passed the Falkland Islands (Legislative Council) Order 1948, which introduced

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

to the islands by creating a new Legislative Council consisting of the Governor, acting as Presiding officer, two ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' officers (the Chief Secretary and the Financial Secretary), four appointed members and four elected members. The new constitution came into force on 4 March 1949, with the first election taking place the same year. In 1964 the number of appointed members was reduced to two and in 1977 the remaining appointed members were replaced by two additional elected members, giving the elected members a majority of the seats. The

Argentine military junta The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'', often simply ''el Proceso'', "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, in which it was supported by the United St ...

invaded the Falklands on 2 April 1982, starting the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. During their military occupation of the islands, the Argentine government shut-down the Legislative Council and deported several of its elected members (most notably

Bill Luxton William Robert Luxton (born 1940) is a Falkland Islander farmer and politician who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Camp constituency from the 2009 general election until his resignation in 2011. Luxton was also a Memb ...

and his family), describing them as potential troublemakers. British forces liberated the Falkland Islanders from Argentine occupation on 14 June 1982, with civilian rule being restored on 25 June with the return of Governor

Rex Hunt Rex James Hunt (born 7 March 1949) is an Australian television and radio personality, and a former Australian rules football player. He was also a veteran Australian rules football commentator known for his habit of making up quirky nicknames ...

. On 18 April 1985 the Falkland Islands Constitution Order 1985 came into force which increased the number elected members of the Council to eight and in 1997 the constitution was amended with regard to voters rights. In 2002 the Falkland Islands became a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

and the Governor was replaced as Presiding officer by the newly created office of Speaker of the Legislative Council. A new constitution came into force on 1 January 2009, which replaced the Legislative Council with the more powerful Legislative Assembly.

Powers and composition

Under the 1985 constitution, the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council, could make laws for "the peace, order and good government of the Falkland Islands". The Legislative Council consisted of eight elected members (five from

and three from

Camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

) and two ''ex officio'' members (the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and the Financial Secretary). Elections to the Legislative Council had to take place at least once every four years.

References

{{Reflist 1845 establishments in the British Empire 2009 disestablishments in the Falkland Islands Defunct unicameral legislatures History of the Falkland Islands