Parliament
Parliament 156 Main Street, Gibraltar

The Gibraltar House of Assembly

House of Assembly

The House of Assembly was established by the Gibraltar Constitution Order 1969, given at the Court of Holyroodhouse on the 23rd May 1969. The Preamble of the Order reads as follows:-

"Whereas Gibraltar is part of Her Majesty's dominions and Her Majesty's Government have given assurances to the people of Gibraltar that Gibraltar will remain part of Her Majesty's dominions unless and until an Act of Parliament otherwise provides and furthermore that Her Majesty's Government will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes".

The building was erected out of public subscription in 1817 by the Exchange Committee. This was the first prominent representative body of the civilian population pursuing civil rights in a predominantly fortress environment and it also became the forum of petitions to the Governor. It later became the Exchange and Commercial Library. In 1969 the interior of the building was redecorated to house the Gibraltar House of Assembly which was inaugurated by His Excellency the Governor Admiral of the Fleet Sir Varyl Begg, on 28th August 1969.

Today the House of Assembly is the heart of democracy in Gibraltar and the rock foundation of the sovereignty of the Gibraltarians, that is, "Gibraltarians" in its widest sense since not only the indigenous but all British inhabitants over the age of 18 years with six months residence are enfranchised.

The House of Assembly consists of the Speaker and 15 elected members, the Attorney General and the Financial and Development Secretary, who are under contract of employment with the Gibraltar Government and are appointed by the Governor.

The Speaker is not an elected member and is appointed by the Governor after consultation with the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. He has no original or casting vote.

Inside the House of Assembly
Inside House of AssemblyAs a rule, because the voting system allows for each elector to exercise a maximum of eight votes, there are usually 8 elected Members on the Government side and seven elected Members in
Opposition.

The Chief Minister is also the Leader of the House and within the provisions of the procedural Standing Orders, he calls the meetings and sets the agenda. The Standing Orders that regulate the proceedings of the House are an abridged version of the one used in the House of Commons with variations to suit the nature of the House of Assembly. However, the privileges, the Standing Orders of the House of Commons and the conventions explained in Erskine May (updated text book on parliamentary practices at Westminster) are adopted in situations not adequately provided for in the Standing Orders of the House of Assembly.

There is provision for a Leader of the Opposition who has a special status both in the Assembly as the spokesman of the elected Members in Opposition and in protocol as representative of the Opposition at official and other functions on matters outside the House of Assembly.

The life of a House of Assembly is four years but the Chief Minister can ask the Governor for its dissolution at any time.

Members of the public are allowed to listen and watch the proceedings from the "Strangers' Gallery". Reporters of the news media are suitably accommodated and the proceedings are broadcast live by Radio Gibraltar.

HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
156 MAIN STREET
GIBRALTAR

Speaker - The Hon Judge John E Alcantara CBE
Clerk - Mr. Dennis J Reyes ED

Tel No. (350) 78420
Fax No. (350) 42849

 
Last Revised : 17 April 2000