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Legal Summary

Overseas Territories

The 13 UK Overseas Territories (OTs) and the two Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) are listed below, grouped into broad geographical areas:

• PACIFIC: Pitcairn Islands
• INDIAN OCEAN: British Indian Ocean Territory
• SOUTH ATLANTIC: British Antarctic Territory; Falkland Islands; St Helena and its Dependencies Tristan da Cunha and Ascension; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• WIDER CARIBBEAN: Anguilla; Bermuda; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Montserrat; Turks and Caicos Islands
• EUROPE: Cyprus Sovereign Base Areas; Gibraltar

The territories are semi autonomous each with its own written constitution. The OTs have locally elected governments (with the exception of British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, South Georgia and the Sovereign Base Areas) to whom most domestic matters have been devolved under the constitution. This includes the enactment of local legislation, tax raising powers, the control of domestic public finance, the economy and areas such as education, social services, housing, public works and the environment. Their Head of State is Her Majesty the Queen who appoints a resident Governor or Commissioner (in those with no indigenous population) to represent her in each territory. The Governor is responsible on behalf of the UK Government for the conduct of international relations, the defence of the territory from external threats, the maintenance of internal security including police and prison services, the administration of justice and the public service. The exact relationship between the Overseas Territories and the UK differs from territory to territory. Environmental issues are generally governed by international Conventions, such as the Convention on Biodiversity, which is the responsibility of the UK Government but their implementation is a matter for the locally elected government. The UK Government and the Overseas Territory Governments have recently adopted an Environment Charter setting out mutual Guiding Principles for the preservation and management of the environment and commitments on both sides for achieving these.