The States of Guernsey is the parliament of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guernsey also apply to Alderney and Sark as "Bailiwick-wide legislation" with the consent of the governments of those islands. All enactments of the States of Guernsey apply to Herm as well as Guernsey, since Herm is wholly owned by the States of Guernsey. When constituted as a legislature, it is officially called the States of Deliberation. When constituted as an electoral college, it is officially called the States of Election. Legislation passed by the States is termed Laws, which take effect in the island by Order-in-Council. Minor and secondary legislation does not require the assent of the Queen-in-Council and are known as Ordinances.
Membership
The States of Deliberation consists of 38 People's Deputies, elected every four years from multi-member districts by plurality block voting, in which each voter can vote for as many candidates as there are seats in the district. Two Alderney Deputies are appointed by the States of Alderney to represent Alderney's interest in matters delegated by Alderney to Guernsey under the 1948 Agreement. The Alderney Representatives are full members of the States of Deliberation but are unpaid, and are chosen from the 10 members of the States of Alderney after an Alderney-wide plebiscite. There are also two non-voting members being the Law Officers of the Crown - the Procureur and the Comptroller both appointed by the monarch. The Bailiff presides over the States.
History
The legislature derives its name from the estates of the Crown, the Church and the people from whom the assembly was originally summoned. The Jurats, representing the Crown, and the representatives of the Church of England were replaced in the constitutional reforms following the Second World War, when the office of Conseiller was introduced. Until the General Election of 2000, there were 33 Deputies elected with three year mandates, and 12 Conseillers representing the Bailiwick, serving terms of six years, with half being elected every three. The Conseillers were not originally directly electedby the people, and the office has now been abolished. The 10 Douzaine representatives were removed from the States in the 2004 constitutional reform and the total of elected deputies rose to the 45 total. In 2016 the number of deputies was reduced to 38. A 2018 referendum means the whole island will form a single 38-member district for the 2020 election.
