Island Council (Pitcairn)

The Island Council is the legislature of the Pitcairn Islands. It also doubles as the court of the British dependency, making it one of the few bodies in the world to possess both legislative and judicial authority.

Structure

The Council has ten members, five of whom are elected. The other five members are the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, the Island Secretary, a Commissioner who liaises between the Council and the Governor and a member co-opted by the five elected members and the Deputy Mayor.

The elected members of the Council and the Deputy Mayor all serve two year terms. The Mayor is elected for three years, whilst the Commissioner is appointed by the Governor for an indefinite term.

History

The presiding officer of the council was traditionally the Magistrate, who held executive, legislative, and judicial authority. Following a constitutional review in 1998, his office was divided and replaced by the Mayor and the council chairman, effective from 1999).

Until 2011 the Governor appointed a second member of the Council. However, this position was scrapped in favour of introducing the fifth elected seat.

Council membership

Following the 2013 general elections, the composition of the council is as follows.

• Mayor: Shawn Christian
• Deputy Mayor: Brenda Christian
• Councillors: Charlene Warren, Darralyn Griffiths, David Brown, Michele Christian and Leslie Jaques.