Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Small States, Colonial Rule and Democracy

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Small States in a Legal World

Part of the book series: The World of Small States ((WSS,volume 1))

Abstract

The Commonwealth Caribbean is often singled out by scholars as one of the most democratic regions in the developing world. The region is also notable for the number of small countries that it includes: whether measured by reference to population size or land mass, these are amongst the smallest countries in the world. Based on the statistical link that has been drawn by scholars between small size and democracy, it is tempting to conclude that the democratic character of the region is, therefore, largely a function of the small size of the majority of its countries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The region comprises 12 independent countries that gained their independence from Britain at different times over a period of 20 odd years between 1962 and 1983: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. It also includes a number of British Overseas Territories, but since they are not entirely self-governing they are not the focus of this chapter.

  2. 2.

    Dominguez (1993), p. 57.

  3. 3.

    For example, Barbados, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Vincent and the Grenadines all have land mass area of less than 500 km2; and, with the exception of Jamaica, which has a population of 2.7 million, Trinidad and Tobago, which has a population of just over 1.3 million, and Guyana which has a population of 800,000 the remainder of the countries within the region all have populations of under 400,000. Indeed, many of the countries are miniscule, with populations which hover around 100,000 or less: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

  4. 4.

    See, for example, Diamond and Tsalik (1999), pp. 117–60.

  5. 5.

    As discussed in Srebnik (2004), pp. 329–341.

  6. 6.

    Anckar and Anckar (1995), pp. 211–229.

  7. 7.

    Ott (2000), pp. 111–124.

  8. 8.

    Veenendaal (2013), pp. 92–112.

  9. 9.

    Ibid, p. 96.

  10. 10.

    Ibid.

  11. 11.

    Payne (1993), pp. 201–217.

  12. 12.

    Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Jamaica, and St Kitts and Nevis.

  13. 13.

    Blackstone (1765), p. 107.

  14. 14.

    The settled colonies in the region comprised: St Kitts (1624), Barbados (1627), Nevis (1628), Antigua (1632), the Bahamas (1648), and Barbuda (1678).

  15. 15.

    As in the case of Jamaica (1655), though it was treated by the British as if it were a settled colony, St Lucia (1762) and Trinidad (1797).

  16. 16.

    As in the case of Dominica (ceded by the French in 1763), Grenada and St Vincent (ceded by the French in 1783), Tobago (ceded in 1793 by the French), Guyana (the territory, then know as Demerera, Berbice and Essequibo was purchased by the British in 1814, and in 1831 renamed British Guiana) and, finally, Belize (formally recognised as British following a treaty with Spain in 1763, and given the name of British Honduras in 1862).

  17. 17.

    For a discussion of the distinction between settled colonies and ceded or conquered colonies see Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd. (1971) 17 FLR 141. See also Dupont (2001), p. 284.

  18. 18.

    Wrong (1923), p. 40.

  19. 19.

    Lewis (2004), p. 102.

  20. 20.

    Lewis (2004), p. 98.

  21. 21.

    Ibid.

  22. 22.

    Holland Rose (1940), pp. 735–37.

  23. 23.

    Lewis (2004).

  24. 24.

    Meighoo and Jamadar (2008).

  25. 25.

    Norman Manley, Jamaica’s first Prime Minster, had served in the Royal Field Artillery in World War I and was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford; Eric Williams, Trinidad and Tobago’s first Prime Minister competed his PhD at Oxford; Errol Barrow, the first Prime Minister of Barbados concurrently studied law at the Inns of Court and economics at LSE; and Forbes Burnham, the first Prime Minister of Guyana also attended LSE where he studied law.

  26. 26.

    Lewis (2004), p. 101.

  27. 27.

    Quoted in ibid.

  28. 28.

    With exception of Guyana, which in 1980 adopted a Cooperative Socialist Republic Constitution, all of the other countries in the region have been governed under the Westminster model since independence.

  29. 29.

    With the exception of Guyana which has a party list system.

  30. 30.

    For example, in Grenada in 1999 when the New National Party under Keith Mitchell won all of the available seats; in St Lucia in 1997 and 2001 when the St Lucia Labour Party under Kenny Anthony won 16 and 14 out of the 17 available seats; Barbados in 1999 when the Barbados Labour Party under Owen Arthur won 26 of the 28 available seats; and in St Kitts and Nevis in 2000 and 2004 when the St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party under Denzil Douglas won 8 and 7 out of the 11 available seats respectively. See Barrow-Giles and Joseph (2006), pp. 5–6.

  31. 31.

    In addition to those identified in this section the Prime Minister appoints ambassadors, high commissioners and other principal representatives of the state. See, for example, Antigua and Barbuda Constitutional Order 1981 (Constitution of Antigua), s 101(2)(c).

  32. 32.

    Dominica embarked upon independence as a republic with a ceremonial President. Guyana became a republic in 1970 when it replaced the Queen as head of state with a ceremonial President and Trinidad and Tobago followed suit in 1976.

  33. 33.

    Once appointed, the Governor General is a free agent who does not need to receive instructions from the Queen. See Kumarasingham (2010), p. 45.

  34. 34.

    Dale (1983), p. 112.

  35. 35.

    O’Brien (2014): This is true, for example, of all the Governors General in the Bahamas since independence, with one exception. It is also true of Sir Deighton Ward in Barbados; Carlyle Glean in Grenada; Clifford Campbell, Sir Florizel Glasspole and Howard Cooke in Jamaica; and Allen Lewis, Boswell Williams and George Mallett in St Lucia. Antigua had until recently been an exception to this general trend. However, the most recently appointed Governor General in that country, not only contributed to the governing party’s election campaign, but also made frequent public appearances to support the party’s election campaign.

  36. 36.

    Dale (1983), p. 113. See also Bogdanor and Marshall (1996) who have, in contrast, suggested that the Queen may retain a residual discretion to refuse a Prime Minister’s request for dismissal of a Governor General.

  37. 37.

    O’Brien (2014), p. 48.

  38. 38.

    The reserve powers of Governors General also include, by implication, the power to refuse assent to a Bill presented by Parliament, though by a convention which applies as much to the Caribbean as it does elsewhere in the Commonwealth, a Head of State under the Westminster model must always assent to a Bill on the advice of Cabinet. Indeed, were a Governor General to refuse to accept the Cabinet’s advice assent to a Bill presented by Parliament, it would, save in the most exceptional circumstances as where the Bill abolished the independence of the judiciary, be regarded as profoundly undemocratic. In the case of this particular reserve power then the contingent status of the Governor General is not regarded as being problematic.

  39. 39.

    Belize, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

  40. 40.

    Robinson et al. (2015), p. 96.

  41. 41.

    In Jamaica, for example, under the Prime Minister PJ Patterson 22 out of the 34 elected members of the House of Representatives were government ministers.

  42. 42.

    Robinson et al. (2015), p.103.

  43. 43.

    Though in some countries there is a rule about the number of senators that may be appointed as ministers. See, for example, Jamaica (Constitution) Order in Council 1962 (Constitution of Jamaica), s 69(3).

  44. 44.

    Ghany (2002).

  45. 45.

    Ibid.

  46. 46.

    Belize Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Act 2008.

  47. 47.

    Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines have unicameral legislatures, which include elected members and nominated senators. Nominated senators are not entitled to vote on a motion of no confidence.

  48. 48.

    Contrary to the Constitution of Antigua, s 39(1)(g).

  49. 49.

    Browne v Giselle Isaac-Arrindell, High Court Antigua, 16 June 2010. Unreported. Available on file with the author.

  50. 50.

    Thus, former public officers and members of the legislature are usually disqualified (see, for example, Saint Christopher and Nevis Constitution Order 1983 (Constitution of St Kitts and Nevis), s 77(2)) and there is also usually a quarantine period during which a person who has held office or acted as a member of a PSC cannot be eligible for appointment to another public office (see, for example, Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Act (Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago), s 126(2).

  51. 51.

    Appointments to the PSC are for a fixed term, the minimum being 2 years, as in the case of Antigua, and the maximum being 5 years, as in the case of Jamaica.

  52. 52.

    Members of the PSC may only be removed from office by the President or Governor General, as the case may be, for inability to discharge the functions of their office whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any other cause or for misbehaviour, and then only if their removal has been recommended by a tribunal, comprising a chairman and two other members appointed by the Chief Justice (see, for example, Constitution of St Kitts and Nevis, ss 77(5) and (6).

  53. 53.

    Thomas v AG Trinidad [1982] AC 113.

  54. 54.

    Constitution of Antigua, s 99(1).

  55. 55.

    See, for example, Constitution of Antigua, s 99(1); Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, s 120(1).

  56. 56.

    O’Brien (2014), p. 166.

  57. 57.

    Eaton et al. (2002), p. 210.

  58. 58.

    With the exception of Antigua and St Kitts, where responsibility is shared, somewhat uncomfortably, between the Supervisor of Elections and the Electoral Commission.

  59. 59.

    As in the Bahamas, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.

  60. 60.

    See, for example, Grenada Constitution Order 1973, s 35 (1) which provides that the Supervisor of Elections should be appointed by the Governor General.

  61. 61.

    See Antigua Constitution Review Commission Report (2002), p. 89.

  62. 62.

    As in Barbados and Belize, where three of the five members are appointed in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister.

  63. 63.

    See Constitution of Saint Lucia 1979, s 53(3).

  64. 64.

    In Barbados and Trinidad, the Electoral Commission and Boundaries Commission are combined in one body—the Electoral and Boundaries Commission. The exception is Jamaica, where under s 67 of the Constitution of Jamaica, this responsibility is assigned to a Standing Committee of the House of Representatives.

  65. 65.

    [2001] 1 LRC 25.

  66. 66.

    Constitution of Antigua, s 63(1)(a). See also the Constitution of St Kitts and Nevis, s 49(1)(a): which notes that the Chairman is appointed by the Governor General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister given after the Governor General has consulted the Leader of the Opposition and such other persons as the Governor General, acting in their own deliberate judgement, has seen fit to consult.

  67. 67.

    In Antigua, there is an even greater imbalance as two members are appointed by the Governor General in accordance with the advice of Prime Minister and only one member in accordance with the advice of Leader of the Opposition, thus affording the Prime Minister the final say in the appointment of both the chairman and the majority of the members of the CBC (Constitution of Antigua, s 63(1). There is a similar imbalance in the appointed element of Bahamas CBC, but here at least the addition of two ex officio members—the Speaker as chairman and a Justice of the Supreme Court as deputy chairman—does mean the government is not guaranteed a majority on the CBC (Bahamas Independence Order 1973, s 69).

  68. 68.

    Also known in Dominica, Grenada and St Kitts as the Director of Audit.

  69. 69.

    Julia Lawrence v AG Grenada [2007] UKPC 18.

  70. 70.

    (2004) HC 18. Unreported. Available on file with the author.

  71. 71.

    Transparency International (2004), p. 20.

  72. 72.

    For further examples see O’Brien (2014).

  73. 73.

    [2015] UKPC 21.

  74. 74.

    Constitution of St Kitts and Nevis, s 49(1).

  75. 75.

    Schedule 2 provides, inter alia, that there should be an equal number of inhabitants in each constituency as far as is reasonably practicable always having regard, inter alia, to the need to ensure adequate representation of sparsely populated rural areas.

  76. 76.

    In accordance with the Constitution of St Kitts and Nevis, s 119.

  77. 77.

    The JCPC remains the final appellate Court for the majority of countries in the region. The exceptions are Barbados, Guyana, Belize and, most recently, Dominica.

  78. 78.

    Douglas (2015).

  79. 79.

    Ibid.

  80. 80.

    See Statement of ABEC available at http://www.abec.gov.ag/pr/ER_2009.pdf

  81. 81.

    In accordance with the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act 2001, s 4.

  82. 82.

    Watt v Attorney General and Prime Minister Antigua and Barbuda No. ANUHCV 2011/0025. Unreported decision of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Available on file with the author.

  83. 83.

    Watt v Prime Minister Antigua and Barbuda No. ANUHCVAP2012/0042. Unreported decision of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. Available on file with the author.

  84. 84.

    See MacDonald and Bowden (2011).

  85. 85.

    Robinson et al. (2015), p. 103.

  86. 86.

    Brantley v Martin (2014) HC SKN. Unreported. Available on file with the author.

  87. 87.

    Ferdinand (2013).

References

  • Anckar D, Anckar C (1995) Size, insularity and democracy. Scand Polit Stud 18:211–229

    Google Scholar 

  • Antigua Constitutional Review Commission (2002) Report. Antigua

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrow-Giles C, Joseph TSD (2006) General elections and voting in the english-speaking Caribbean 1992–2005. Ian Randle Publishers, Kingston

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackstone W (1765) Commentaries on the laws of England, vol 1. Clarendon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogdanor V, Marshall G (1996) Dismissing governor-generals. Public Law:205–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Dale W (1983) The modern commonwealth. Butterworths, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Diamond LJ, Tsalik S (1999) Size and democracy: the case for decentralization. In: Diamond LJ (ed) Developing democracy: towards consolidation. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Dominguez JI (1993) The Caribbean question: why has liberal democracy (surprisingly) flourished? In: Dominguez et al (eds) Democracy in the Caribbean. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas S (2015) Dr Douglas Voted Out. Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Available at http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,207085.html. Accessed 01 July 2016

  • Dupont J (2001) The common law abroad: constitutional and legal legacy of the British Empire. Fred B Rothman Publications, Littleton

    Google Scholar 

  • Eaton G, et al (2002) The Public Service Commission in Grenada. In: Ryan S, Bissessar A-M (eds) Governance in the Caribbean. SALISES - University of the West Indies Press, St Augustine

    Google Scholar 

  • Faris R (1999) Unto themselves: insularity and democracy. Thesis (MA – Unpublished), University of North Carolina

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferdinand E (2013) Commentary by Emile Ferdinand QC: constitutional conventions and political controversies. Winn 98.9 FM

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghany H (2002) Defeated parliamentary candidates as parliamentarians: a comparative study of political will vs electoral will in Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago. Paper presented at the Grenada conference - beyond walls: multi-disciplinary perspectives. University Centre, St. George’s, 7–9 January 2002

    Google Scholar 

  • Holland Rose J (ed) (1940) Cambridge history of the British empire, vol 2: the growth of the new empire 1783–1870. Cambridge University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumarasingham H (2010) Onward with executive power: lessons from New Zealand 1947–1957. Wellington, Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis GK (2004) The growth of the modern West Indies. Ian Randle Publishers, Kingston

    Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald NA, Bowden JWJ (2011) No discretion: on prorogation and the Governor General. Can Parliam Rev 4(1):7–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Meighoo K, Jamadar P (2008) Democracy and constitution reform in Trinidad and Tobago. Ian Randle Publishers, Jamaica

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien D (2014) The constitutional systems of the commonwealth Caribbean: a contextual analysis. Hart Publishing Ltd, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Ott D (2000) Small is democratic: an examination of state size and democratic development. Garland, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne DW (1993) Caribbean democracy. Free Rev 10:1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson T et al (2015) Fundamentals of Caribbean constitutional law. Sweet & Maxwell, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Srebnik H (2004) Small island nations and democratic values. World Dev 32:329–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Transparency International (2004) Country Study Report: Caribbean Composite Study. Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Veenendaal WP (2013) Democracy in microstates: why smallness does not produce a democratic political system. Democratization 22(1):92–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wrong H (1923) Government of the West Indies. Clarendon Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

    Derek O’Brien

Authors
  1. Derek O’Brien
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Derek O’Brien .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Petra Butler

  2. School of Law, Queen Mary University of London , London, United Kingdom

    Caroline Morris

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

O’Brien, D. (2017). Small States, Colonial Rule and Democracy. In: Butler, P., Morris, C. (eds) Small States in a Legal World. The World of Small States, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39366-7_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39366-7_7

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-39365-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-39366-7

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation