Constitution:
The Isle of Man is a British Crown Dependency and is not part
of the UK. Its people have British nationality although an Islander
would see himself as Manx rath er
than British. The Island is not represented in the UK parliament
and the latter does not legislate for the Island without its
consent in matters of taxation or other matters of purely domestic
concern. However in international law the UK is responsible
for the Island's external relations.
The Isle of Man has its own Government, Parliament (Tynwald)
and an independent  judicial
system. All legislation is passed by Tynwald which has a history
stretching back over 1,000 years (it is said to be one of
the oldest democracies in the world). Tynwald has 2 branches
– the Legislative Council and the House of Keys. The
latter is made up of 24 members publicly elected for a 5 year
term, and like the House of Commons has an elected Speaker
to maintain order.
Public and private bills may be introduced by either Branch
of Tynwald and the legislative course is similar to that taken
at Westminster. Once a bill has been passed by both Branches
it is signed in Tynwald.
Economy: Over 20 years
of uninterrupted growth has resulted in the IOM becoming one
of Europe's most successful small economies. Over the last
5 years it has been growing three times faster than the economies
of Singapore and the UK, and considerably faster that smaller
European peers, such as Liechtenstein and Andorra.
Some 36% of all of the IOM's economic activity and one fifth
of total employment stems from the financial services sector.
Offshore banking, fund management and insurance, as well as
corporate services provision are the mainstay of the Island's
biggest economic sector. The size and strength of this sector
has enabled the Island to establish itself as an internationally
recognised finance centre that operates from a secure base
built on political stability, low taxation and a firmly established
fiscal and regulatory environment. It is also supported by
a modern communications infrastructure.
However in contrast with other offshore jurisdictions the
IOM's economy has remained diversified and economic growth
continues to be broadly based throughout sectors of the economy.
The GDP per capita now stands at 107% of the UK and 110% of
the EU average. |
