The Legislative Council ( gv, Yn Choonceil Slattyssagh) is the

upper chamber An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricte ...

Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...

, the legislature of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. The abbreviation "LegCo" is often used. It consists of eleven members (MLCs): * Eight members elected by the

House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in ...

* Three ''

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 ...

'' members: **

President of Tynwald The President of Tynwald (''Eaghtyrane Tinvaal'') is the presiding officer at the sittings of Tynwald Court in Douglas and is elected by the members of Tynwald from amongst their number. The first elected President, Charles Kerruish, was ele ...

, ''ex officio'' President of the Legislative Council (casting vote) **

Bishop of Sodor and Man The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man (Manx Gaelic: ''Sodor as Mannin'') in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese only covers the Isle of Man. The Peel Cathedral, Cath ...

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

for the Isle of Man (non-voting) Historically, most or all elected MLCs were former MHKs, but this practice has now much reduced or ceased. Formerly, the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

presided over the Legislative Council and over Tynwald Court (a joint session of the Council and the House of Keys). Now, however, the President of Tynwald, who is chosen by the whole Tynwald for a five-year term, is the ''ex officio'' President of the Legislative Council, and presides over both the Legislative Council and Tynwald Court, except that the Lieutenant Governor presides once a year on

Tynwald Day Tynwald Day ( gv, Laa Tinvaal) is the National Day of the Isle of Man, usually observed on 5 July (if this is a Saturday or Sunday, then on the following Monday). On this day, the Island's legislature, Tynwald, meets at St John's, instead of ...

. Furthermore, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and the Attorney General have seats on the Legislative Council. The Bishop is a voting member, the Attorney General is a non-voting member, and the President has the

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

. The Council does not usually originate legislation (until recently the last Act originating from the Council was the Sharing of Church Buildings Act 1986). Instead, it reviews draft legislation originating from the House of Keys. However, it is possible for legislation to originate in the Council: a recent example is the Equality Act 2017.

Method of election

The MLCs are elected by the members of the

for a term of five years. Four MLCs retire at a time, and four new MLCs are then elected. An MLC must be at least 21 years old and resident in the Isle of Man. Historically the election procedure has been cumbersome, and on some occasions in recent years the election has required many ballots, stretching over a period of weeks or even months. However the Standing Orders of the House of Keys regarding the election of MLCs were amended on 4 April 2017, and a relevant Guidance Note was issued by the Speaker of the House of Keys in June 2017. In 2018, only one ballot was required, although some felt that that was at the cost of allowing members to vote for an excessive number of candidates (one member voted for 13 candidates out of 15 and another for 11). A motion was proposed in the Keys on 28 January 2020, shortly before the 2020 MLC election, which would have prevented MHKs voting for more candidates than there are places to be filled, but this was rejected. In 2020, again only one ballot was required, and members voted for an average of about 4 candidates each.

2016 Review of the Functioning of Tynwald

For many years there has been considerable debate about the functioning of Tynwald, and specifically about the composition, method of election, and functions of the Legislative Council. In the past, a number of reforms were made in the composition of the Legislative Council, which are set out below. In 2016

Lord Lisvane Robert James Rogers, Baron Lisvane, (born 5 February 1950) is a British life peer and retired public servant. He served as Clerk of the House of Commons from October 2011 until August 2014. Following his elevation as a Life Peer in 2014, Lord ...

was asked to carry out a review of the functioning of Tynwald. Among his recommendations were: * Members of the Legislative Council should continue not to be directly elected, but instead should be nominated by an independent Nominations Commission to the House of Keys. No sitting MHK could be nominated. * The Legislative Council should not vote on taxation or appropriation. * Only exceptionally should MLCs be ministers. * The Bishop should continue as an ''ex officio'' voting member of the Legislative Council. However there has been little action to implement these recommendations.

1990 reform and current composition

The Lieutenant Governor was removed as Presiding Officer of Tynwald and replaced by a member of Tynwald elected by the Members of the High Court of Tynwald as

. (Currently only MHKs are electors.) The President of Tynwald is also a member of the Legislative Council and presides at its sittings. The members are thus: *President of Tynwald *Attorney General *Bishop of Sodor and Man *Eight members elected by the House of Keys The non-''ex officio'' members are elected by the House of Keys for terms which end at the end of February immediately before the fifth anniversary of their election.

Current membership

Membership of the council since 1990

Past membership

Historical composition

Original

The original function of the Legislative Council was

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

(i.e. giving advice to the Lieutenant Governor — or Lords of Mann prior to Revestment) and its membership was entirely appointed, as follows: *

First Deemster A Deemster ( gv, briw) is a judge in the Isle of Man. The High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man is presided over by a deemster or, in the case of the appeal division of that court, a deemster and the Judge of Appeal. The deemsters also pro ...

Second Deemster A Deemster ( gv, briw) is a judge in the Isle of Man. The High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man is presided over by a deemster or, in the case of the appeal division of that court, a deemster and the Judge of Appeal. The deemsters also prom ...

Clerk of the Rolls The Clerk of the Rolls ( gv, Cleragh ny Lioaryn) is a judge and Head of the Judiciary in the Isle of Man. This position was formerly distinct from that of the Deemsters but now the Clerk of the Rolls is held jointly with the office of First Deem ...

(Position amalgamated with the First Deemster in 1918.) *

Receiver General A receiver general (or receiver-general) is an officer responsible for accepting payments on behalf of a government, and for making payments to a government on behalf of other parties. See also * Treasurer * Receiver General for Canada * Recei ...

Water Bailiff A water bailiff is a law-enforcement officer responsible for the policing of bodies of water, such as a river, lake or coast. The position has existed in many jurisdictions throughout history. Scotland In Scotland, under the Salmon and Freshwater ...

(position dissolved 1885) * Archdeacon of Sodor and Man *

Vicar General of Sodor and Man The Vicar General of the Diocese of Sodor and Man is an ecclesiastical law officer appointed by the Bishop of Sodor and Man. Formerly there were two vicars general in the diocese, but since 1846 only one has been appointed. The Vicar General is ...

(At various times there were two of these.) Historically the "Comptroller" (a position sometimes held together with another office such as that of Receiver-General) and an "Archdeacon's Official" were also members. Before the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

the Council included other prelates, such as the Abbot of Rushen. The first seven were Crown appointments and the last two appointments by the Bishop. Reforms were slowly made to reduce the number of judicial and religious appointments and these members were slowly replaced by indirectly elected members.

1917 reform

In 1917, the Judicature (Amendment) Act introduced by the Legislative Council removed Clerk of the Rolls from the composition of the Council. It then consisted of the following members: * Lieutenant Governor * Bishop of Sodor and Man * First Deemster * Second Deemster * Attorney General * Receiver General * Archdeacon of Sodor and Man * Vicar General of Sodor and Man

1919 reform

In 1919, The Archdeacon; the Vicar General; and the Receiver General were removed as ''ex officio'' members of the Council by the

Isle of Man Constitution Amendment Act 1919 An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

. The members were thus: *Lieutenant Governor *First Deemster *Second Deemster *Attorney General *Bishop of Sodor and Man *Two members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor *Four members elected by the House of Keys

1961 reform

Increased the number of elected members from four to five.

1965 reform

The Second Deemster lost his seat in the Council. The members were thus: *Lieutenant Governor *First Deemster *Attorney General *Bishop of Sodor and Man *Two members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor *Five members elected by the House of Keys

1969 reform

The Isle of Man Constitution Act 1969 removed the two appointed members of the Legislative Council. The members were thus:http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/hansard/19601980/LC-19690603-v0086.pdf * Lieutenant Governor * First Deemster * Attorney General * Bishop of Sodor and Man * Seven members elected by the House of Keys

1971 reform

The Isle of Man Constitution Act 1971 removed the Attorney-General's vote, and he no longer counted towards a quorum.

1975 reform

The First Deemster lost his seat in the Council, by virtue of the Isle of Man Constitution (Amendment) Act 1975. The members were thus: *Lieutenant Governor *Attorney General *Bishop of Sodor and Man *Eight members elected by the House of Keys

1980 reform

The Lieutenant Governor was removed as Presiding Officer and replaced by an indirectly elected President of the Legislative Council. The Governor still presided at joint sittings of Tynwald. The members were thus: *President of the Legislative Council *Attorney General *Bishop of Sodor and Man *Eight members elected by the House of Keys

References

{{coord, 54, 09, 03, N, 4, 28, 56, W, display=title, region:IM_type:landmark Government of the Isle of Man Politics of the Isle of Man

Man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

Tynwald