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Thepolitics of the Falkland Islands takes place in a framework of aconstitutional monarchy andparliamentaryrepresentative democraticdependency as set out by theconstitution, whereby theGovernor exercises the duties ofhead of state in the absence of themonarch, and theChief Executive is the head of the Civil Service, with an electedLegislative Assembly to propose new laws, national policy, approve finance and hold the executive to account.
TheFalkland Islands, an archipelago in the southernAtlantic Ocean, are a self-governingBritish overseas territory. Executive power is exercised on behalf ofthe King by an appointed Governor, who primarily acts on the advice of theExecutive Council. Legislative power is vested in both the government and theLegislative Assembly. Thejudiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Themilitary defence andforeign policy of the islands is the responsibility of theUnited Kingdom. No political parties exist on the islands currently and so Members stand as independents, however the governmental and legal proceedings very closely resemble British standards.
Following theFalklands War in 1982,Lord Shackleton published a report on theeconomy of the Falkland Islands which recommended many modernisations. On 1 January 1983 theFalkland Islanders gainedBritish citizenship under theBritish Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983, and on 3 October 1985 theConstitution of the Falkland Islands was established. A new constitution came into force on 1 January 2009 which modernised the Chapter on fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, embeddingself-determination in the main body of the constitution. The new constitution also replaced the Legislative Council with the Legislative Assembly, and better explained the role of theGovernor and theChief Executive.[1]
TheArgentine Republic claims the Falkland Islands (known inSpanish asIslas Malvinas) to be part of its territory. This claim is disputed by theFalkland Islanders and theUnited Kingdom. In 1982, Argentinainvaded andoccupied the islands, starting theFalklands War. The islands were subsequentlyliberated by British forces just 74 days after the start of the war, which led to the collapse of themilitary dictatorship in Argentina.
The sovereignty of the Falklands remains in dispute, with Argentina claiming the islands are anintegral and indivisible part of its territory, 'illegally occupied by an occupying power'.[2] The United Kingdom and theGovernment of the Falkland Islands maintains that theIslanders have theright to determine the sovereignty of their birthplace.[3] In areferendum in 2013 the people of the Falkland Islands soundly rejected Argentina's claim to the islands, with 99.8% of voters supporting the Falklands remaining anOverseas Territory of the United Kingdom.[4]
Executive authority on the Falkland Islands is vested inCharles III, who has been thehead of state since his accession to the British throne on 8 September 2022. As the King is absent from the islands for most of the time, executive authority is exercised "in His Majesty's name and on His Majesty's behalf" by theGovernor of the Falkland Islands.Colin Martin-Reynolds has been Governor since 29 July 2025.[5]
The Governor normally acts only on the advice of theExecutive Council of the Falkland Islands, which is composed of three Members of theLegislative Assembly elected by the Assembly to serve on the Council every year, theChief Executive, theDirector of Finance and the Governor, who acts aspresiding officer. The only members with a vote to progress a change in law or policy are the democratically elected Members of the Legislative Assembly who are serving on Executive Council. The constitution does permit the Governor to act without consulting the Executive Council and even going against its instructions, but in both cases the Governor must immediately inform theSecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in the United Kingdom, who can overrule the Governor's actions.
Government policy and the execution thereof is primarily decided by the 3 officio Executive Council MLAs. The Chief Executive leads the civil service and undertakes actions from Executive Council.[6]
Thelegislative branch consists of aunicameralLegislative Assembly.General elections must take place at least once every four years, in which the islanders elect eight members to the Legislative Assembly (five fromStanley and three fromCamp) throughuniversal suffrage usingblock voting. There are also twoex officio members of the Assembly (theChief Executive and theDirector of Finance) who take part in proceedings but are not permitted to vote in the Assembly.
The following major conventions apply to the Falkland Islands and should be taken into account during the drafting of legislation:[7]
Until 2009, when the new constitution came into force and created the Legislative Assembly, the legislature of the islands was the Legislative Council, which had existed since the 19th century.
Thejudicial branch consists of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Summary Court and the Magistrates' Court. The judiciary is strictly independent of the executive and legislature, although it has links with the other branches of the government through theAdvisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy. The government also employs six lawyers (the Attorney General, Law Commissioner, two Crown Counsels and two Legislative Drafters), a Policy Adviser and one Policy Officer.[citation needed]
The court system of the Falklands is set out byChapter VIII of the Constitution and closely resembles thesystem in England and Wales. The Supreme Court of the Falkland Islands has unlimited jurisdiction to hear and determine any civil or criminal proceedings, and consists of theChief Justice (CJ) who is generally a seniorbarrister orsolicitor with a good amount of judicial experience in the United Kingdom. The CJ is not resident in the Falkland Islands but travels to the islands if and when necessary to hear cases. The most serious criminal and civil matters are reserved for the Supreme Court. In civil matters, generally there is no jury however, in criminal matters, the defendant can elect trial by judge and jury or judge alone. There are only a few criminal cases which must be heard before the Supreme Court; these are murder, manslaughter, rape, piracy, treason and arson with the intent to endanger life. The CJ also hears appeals from the Magistrates' Court.
From the Supreme Court, appeals are sent to the Falkland Islands Court of Appeal, which is based on theCourt of Appeal of England and Wales. The Court of Appeal consists of a President and two Justices of Appeal, as well as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who serves as anex officio member. The President and Justices of Appeal are normally from the UK and are Judges of theCourt of Appeal of England and Wales. Appeals from the Court of Appeal are sent to theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council.
The Falkland Islands does not have its ownbar orlaw society, but has a "Falkland Islands Legal Community". There is no differentiation between being abarrister or asolicitor; the private practitioners being called legal practitioners. The Legal Practitioners Ordinance defines who can hold themselves out as being a legal practitioner and therefore have rights of audience before the Falkland Islands courts. Only the Chief Justice of the Falkland Islands can prohibit a legal practitioner from practising.
In the court system on the islands, there is a panel ofJustices of the Peace (JPs) who sit in theSummary Court, which has nojury. JPs are all non-lawyers and are made up of "upstanding members of the community". They hear the most simple of criminal cases (or sit when the Senior Magistrate is not in the Islands) and they also act as the Licensing Justices who deal with alcohol-related applications, such as extended opening hours, special occasion licences, etc.
The Senior Magistrate (SM) is appointed by the Governor and presides over the Magistrates' Court, which again has nojury. The SM is usually a UK qualified lawyer, with at least 10 years experience as anadvocate and, usually, with some judicial experience. The SM holds office for a maximum of three years and is then replaced. The SM is resident in the Islands and hears the majority of cases from simple criminal and civil matters right up to very serious criminal matters or complex civil cases. The SM also hears appeals from the Summary Court.
The Governor has the power to grant apardon to any person concerned in or convicted of an offence, but the Governor can only use this power after consultation with the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy. The Committee consist of two elected members of theLegislative Assembly (appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Legislative Assembly), the Chief Executive, the Attorney General and the Chief Medical Officer.
TheAttorney General (AG), appointed by the Governor, is the main legal adviser to the Falkland Islands Government. The AG's primary role is to determine the legality of government proceedings and action, and has the power to institute and undertake criminal proceedings before any court of law, to take over and continue any criminal proceedings that may have been instituted by another person or authority, or to discontinue at any stage before judgment any criminal proceedings instituted or undertaken by another person or authority. In the exercise of his or her powers, the AG is not subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.
The Attorney General is also a member of theAdvisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy and acts aspresiding officer during Speaker elections in the Legislative Assembly, and has a constitutional right to attend all meetings of the Assembly and all meetings of the Executive Council.
The current Attorney General is Simon Young, who took office in December 2017.[8]
TheDirector of Finance of the Falkland Islands is responsible for government expenditure on the islands, acting with authorisation from theLegislative Assembly. The Director is also anex officio member of both the Legislative Assembly and theExecutive Council.
There is also a Public Accounts Committee consisting of a chairman and two other members appointed by theGovernor (in consultation with the elected MLAs) and two elected members of the Legislative Assembly. Reporting to the Legislative Assembly, the Committee overseas the economy, government expenditure, all public accounts and audit reports on the islands. The Director of Finance is not permitted to be a member of the Public Accounts Committee.
As in manyparliamentary democracies, there are no direct elections for the executive branch of the Falkland Islands Government. Instead the people elect the legislature which then advises and forms part of the executive.General elections, which elect theLegislative Assembly, must take place at least once every four years.Suffrage is universal in the Falklands, with the minimum voting age at eighteen. The Legislative Assembly has ten members, eight of which are elected usingblock voting (five from theStanley constituency and three from theCamp constituency) and twoex officio members (theChief Executive and theDirector of Finance).
In thelast general election, which took place on 11 December 2025, only non-partisans were elected as there are no active political parties in the Falkland Islands.
Historically, there have been two political parties in the Falkland Islands:
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