Constitution Day, observed on the first Monday of July each year, marks the anniversary of Cayman’s first Constitution. The day serves as an opportunity to reflect on the islands’ journey toward self-governance and the evolution of the constitutional framework.
The Cayman Islands Constitution, first enacted in 1959, sets the legal boundaries for the Cayman Islands government, outlining a system with a Crown-appointed governor, a parliament and a cabinet led by the premier. The governor oversees the police, civil service, defence and external affairs and generally acts on the Cabinet’s advice, except in rare circumstances.
Ready to brush up on your Caymanian civics? Here are 10 fun facts you probably didn’t know about the constitution:
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Bye-bye Jamaica, hello Crown Colony: On 4 July 1959, Cayman officially stopped being a dependency of Jamaica and became a Crown Colony, moving under the direct authority of the British Crown. The 1959 Constitution removed the Cayman Islands from Jamaica’s legislative control and placed it directly under the authority of the governor of Jamaica at the time.
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First votes for all: Constitution Day also marks when universal adult suffrage –including women’s right to vote – became law in Cayman on 4 July 1959.
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Out with the old, in with the new: The Constitution did away with a 129-year-old system of vestrymen and justices, replacing them with an 18-member Legislative Assembly, streamlined from 35 members.
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Ministers make their debut: In 1994, constitutional amendments rebranded Executive Council members as ministers.
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Bill of Rights: The first version of the Bill of Rights was introduced in 1994.
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Cabinet overhaul: Big changes came in 2003. Cayman created the roles of Leader of Government Business and Leader of the Opposition and renamed the Executive Council as the Cabinet, marking a key step in modernising the governance framework of the Cayman Islands.
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Current Constitution. The current Constitution came into effect in 2009.
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Premier’s first oath: On 6 November 2009, the Cayman Islands Constitution Order took effect, and McKeeva Bush was sworn in as Cayman’s first-ever premier at the Legislative Assembly (now Parliament), declaring the new Constitution was “written for us by us” and was not a document simply prepared on behalf of the people of the Cayman Islands.
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Big changes: In 2009, the Constitution introduced a new Bill of Rights, expanded local autonomy, limited the governor’s powers, set up the Constitutional Commission and the Human Rights Commission, capped public debt and created the National Security Council.
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More milestones: Major updates since include Cayman’s 2016 ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the 2020 amendment that changed the name of the Legislative Assembly to Parliament.
Want to learn more? Check out educational resources and historical documents on the Constitutional Commission’s website at www.constitutionalcommission.ky.
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