The Isle of Man Government
The Isle of Man has an interesting position regarding its sovereignty. As a self-governing Dependency of the Crown, the Isle of Man's actual head of state is the holder of the British Crown, which is presently Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Queen Elizabeth II's official title regarding the Isle of Man is "Lord of Mann." Although she does not take an active hand in the actual government of the island, she appoints the Island's acting head of state, the Lieutenant Governor, to act in her stead. As a Crown Dependency the Isle of Man is entitled to the UK's protection in military matters and its representation in international governmental forums. However, the Isle's own domestic parliament has jurisdiction over the majority of domestic matters.
The Isle of Man's governing body is called The Tynwald, or Tinvaal in Manx Celtic. The Tynwald is the oldest running parliamentary body in the world, having met consistently since its founding in 979 AD . The Tynwald is tri-cameral in structure, with two of the three branches being the House of Keys, the Legislative Council and The Tynwald. The House of Keys is directly elected by the local populace, which has universal suffrage. The Legislative Council is made up of ex officio members and those who are indirectly elected.
The Isle of Man's government underwent some changes in 2005. There have been plans to reform the local government, such as transforming the Legislative Council into a more directly-elected body. This move would be similar to the United Kingdom's reforms to its House of Lords and the Isle of Guernsey's abolishment of its indirectly-elected Conseillers. The majority of the reform legislation has since been tabled, but one change was made to the local government in the re-alignment of the country's parishes. There were originally 17 Manx parishes, but the number has since been adjusted to 15. The other reforms have not been able to win popular approval with the Manx population, which takes a great deal of pride in its historic government. Additionally one of the main proponents of the reforms in the Manx government retired, so the reformist voice was diminished in the legislature.
The Tynwald agreed to change the Lieutenant Governor's title to that of "Crown Commissioner," or Barrantagh y Chrooin in Manx in October of 2005. An alternate to that title is Barrantagh ny Benrein, which means "Queen's Commissioner." After Elizabeth II cedes the throne to her successor, the title would change to Barrantagh ny Ree, or "King's Commissioner."
External Relations
Many people around the world mistakenly believe that the Isle of Man is part of the United Kingdom. The UK actually handles the Isle's military needs and international representation, but that is basically the extent of the UK's involvement in the Isle's governance. The European Court of Human Rights disputed the Isle's practice of birching (physical punishment similar to caning, which was visited upon male criminal offenders) in the '70s, and the Isle's anti-sodomy legislation would have probably gone the same route if it had not been altered in the 90's.
Although the Isle of Man is not a member or associate of the EU and is outside the borders of the European Economic Area (EEA), it does have the advantage of duty-free goods trading through Protocol Three of the Manx Treaty of Accession with the UK. When viewed alongside the Customs and Excise Agreement with the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man enjoys free trade with the UK and the EEA. This only applies to goods, not to people, services or capital.
There is no such thing as Manx citizenship. The residents of the Isle of Man are British citizens, but they are classified separately from other UK citizens as "Manx," as stipulated by the same protocol of the Manx Treaty of Accession. This same protocol limits citizens of the Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey). This classification does limit such people from living and working freely in the EU, unlike other British citizens via a special passport endorsement. Manx citizens who have a British parent or grandparent or who have resided in the UK for five years or more are exempted from this particular limitation. Although such a limitation is contrary to the EU's free movement regulations, it was requested specifically by the governments of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man at the time.
The Isle of Man is part of the UK Common Travel Area, but travel to the Isle is monitored and regulated by the island's local government. International visitors who need visas to enter the UK can also ask for a Manx visa, which can be obtained from any British diplomatic mission post or embassy. Any non-Manx citizens, including citizens of the UK, must secure work permits in order to work on the Isle of Man.
Politics on the Isle of Man
The Manx political system is practically devoid of parties; local politicians stand for election under the heading of "independent" in order to be considered a representative of any particular party. Some political parties do exists, but their scope of influence is limited, especially in regards to relations with the UK. The majority of Manx legislation comes from a consensus among Tynwald members. This kind of consistent consensus is contrary to the UK's parliamentary nature, which is generally contentious and adversarial.
The MecVannin party stands for establishing the Isle of Man as its own sovereign republic apart from Britain. There is also a Manx Labour Party which is not affiliated with the UK Labour Party in any way. There were also a Manx National Party as well as a Manx Community Party, although they are no longer active. Some Manx legislators are members of the Celtic League, which is a political "pressure group" which advocates for more political autonomy for and cooperation between Celtic nations in the EU. The major political issues debated by the Isle of Man's local legislature include regulation of the local finance sector, housing costs and shortages, and how the Manx language is treated by the government. Most members of the House of Keys are not affiliated with any political party, although the Manx Labour Party and the Alliance for Progressive Government have minority representation.
Local Government in the Isle of Man
Local government in the Island is sectioned off into six districts called "sheadings." These sheading are Glenfaba, Rushen, Michael, Middle, Ayre and Garff. Each Sheading has its particular Coroner, or administrator, and is the basis of the constituency. The Coroner's office shouldn't be confused with the role of the inquest coroner in criminal matters; in the Isle of Man this role is normally performed by the High Bailiff. In regards to the legislative coroner's office, the post can be held by the same individual for multiple sheadings at once.
No one knows where the word "sheading" came from. It could have its roots in the Nordic language, as there is a similar word meaning "ship division." Each sheading was thought to originally be responsible for supplying a given number of Viking warships in a given time period. There is also a Celtic word which means "sixth part" which is very similar to "sheading."
Tynwald - Parliament of the Isle of Man
The Isle of Man enjoys the status of having the oldest continuous parliamentary government in the entire world.
The Tynwald, established by the Vikings in the late 900's AD, has run uninterrupted for more than a thousand years. Apart from the distinction of its age, The Tynwald was also the first example of a tri-cameral government system, meaning it has three separate parts: the House of Keys, the Legislative Council, and the two separate chambers sitting jointly as the Tynwald Court.
The Tynwald Court's main purpose is to debate and address issues of public policy, such as the Chief Minister's yearly Policy Document, and also to vet and give approval to taxation, administrative spending issues and to deal with secondary legislative needs. "Secondary legislation" means the rules, regulations and orders that are made within the scope and reach of current, existing law. It is frequently also called "delegated legislation". The President of Tynwald presides over Tynwald Court sessions and is elected by the members of the Court to serve a five-year term.
Midsummer Court
Annually, on the fifth of July or on the week day which is closest to that date should the fifth be on a weekend, The Tynwald hold an open-air meeting at St. John's. Called the "Midsummer Court," because July 5th is the first day of summer by the Julian calendar; the Julian calendar was replaced in the 1700's in Europe, but the observance of this calendar has been retained for symbolic purposes on the Isle of Man.
This Midsummer sitting is mostly ceremonial, but it is also a legal requisite which will validate any legislation which has been enacted by The Tynwald Court during the previous year. At the Midsummer Court any laws and policies which have been proposed, changed or dismissed are read aloud to the public assembly. Individuals can also call upon their ancient right of petition for grievances, and there are always several who do take advantage of the right. Any petitions deemed worthy of further study are considered by a special committee chosen by members of The Tynwald.
Tynwald Day, as it is known, starts with the Tynwald Court coming together to worship at the Royal Chapel at St. John's. After the church service there is a processional to Tynwald Hill, which is the ancient site for open-air public parliamentary gatherings. In old times the Tynwald's sitting would be presided over by the current Lord of Mann. The Lordship was transferred to the English Crown in 1765, and since then the Lieutenant Governor is the Lord of Mann, unless a member of the British Royal Family happens to be at the proceedings.
During this session the Coroners receive their swearing-in, and the various Acts of Tynwald that have been given Royal Assent are read aloud in Manx and English by two High Court justices known as Deemsters. More details and an itinerary for Tynwald Day can be searched for at the Tynwald Court website.
Tynwald and Government
A primary purpose of a parliament is to intently study the workings of the executive government, and the Isle of Man's Tynwald isn't an exception to this rule, as the analysis and judgment of government is part of the philosophy of Representative and Responsible governing. Governments in the more liberal democratic societies are chosen by the citizenry and made accountable to the citizenry for their behavior and actions. In the Isle of Man elections are infrequent and executive power is held responsible to the parliament between election proceedings.
The three branches of the government have different methods to achieve their goals of scrutinizing the executive branch's behavior. The mechanics of these methods do apply to all branches of the government and some are actually specific for certain chambers. The environment maintained during this process of scrutiny is, however, quite different from most other parliamentary assemblies in the United Kingdom. Unlike UK members, the Isle of Man doesn't have a political party system, no government and Opposition structure, and no "whip" system. This is very helpful in most ways because the Tynwald Membership can approach vital issues on their merit alone, instead of being required to follow party line politics. It is also beneficial in the fact that there is no inherent majority necessary to enforce its measures.
There are nine Ministers that comprise the Council of Ministers for the Isle of Man. They are held by a variation of a convention of collective responsibility, but the Council is the only body the convention applies to. Department Members are nominated by the Chief Minister from general Tynwald membership, and serve to assist the Ministers, while not being subject to convention and aren't seen as junior ministers. The Departmental Members' only point of authority is what is given them by a specific Member.
