List of forms of government
54-817: The Crown Dependencies are three offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the British Crown : the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey , both located in the English Channel and together known as the Channel Islands , and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland . They are closely related to
108-656: A Compact of Free Association and at other times is erroneously held to mean that Puerto Rico's relationship with the U.S. is based on an Interstate compact . This is a constant source of ambiguity and confusion when trying to define, understand, and explain Puerto Rico's political relationship with the United States. For various reasons Puerto Rico's political status differs from that of the Pacific Islands that entered into Compacts of Free Association with
162-550: A country subdivision by being considered not to be a constituent part of a sovereign state. An administrative subdivision, instead, is understood to be a division of a state proper. A dependent territory, conversely, often maintains a great degree of autonomy from its controlling state. Historically, most colonies were considered to be dependent territories. Not all autonomous entities are considered to be dependent territories. Most inhabited, dependent territories have their own ISO 3166 country codes. Some political entities inhabit
216-802: A 2010 Commons Justice Committee, they are independent from the UK and from each other and their relationship is with the Crown. The UK's responsibilities derive from that fact. All "insular" legislation has to receive the approval of the "King in Council", in effect, the Privy Council in London. Certain types of domestic legislation in the Isle of Man and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, however, may be signed into law by
270-574: A result of the Jones–Shafroth Act . The commonly used name in Spanish of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico , literally "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico", which sounds similar to "free association" particularly when loosely used in Spanish, is sometimes erroneously interpreted to mean that Puerto Rico's relationship with the United States is based on
324-452: A special position guaranteed by an international treaty or another agreement, thereby creating a certain level of autonomy (e.g. a difference in immigration rules). Those entities are sometimes considered to be, or are at least grouped with, dependent territories, but are officially considered by their governing states to be an integral part of those states. Such an example is Åland , an autonomous region of Finland . The lists below include
378-470: A status if deemed to be deserving such as a borough or as a more prestigious city by the monarch. Many cities were designated over several centuries, and as Anglican dioceses began to be created the process of city creation became aligned to that used in England, being linked to the presence of a cathedral . Despite this, St Patrick's Isle adjoining the Isle of Man, which had a medieval cathedral ,
432-639: A territorial claim in Antarctica. Norway has one dependent territory and two Antarctic claims. Norway also possesses the inhabited islands of Svalbard where Norwegian sovereignty is limited ( see below ). The United Kingdom has three " Crown Dependencies ", thirteen "Overseas Territories" (ten autonomous, two used primarily as military bases, and one uninhabited), and one Antarctic claim. The United States has 13 " unincorporated " dependent territories under its administration and two claimed territories outside its control. The uninhabited Palmyra Atoll
486-426: Is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state and remains politically outside the controlling state's integral area. As such, a dependent territory includes a range of non-integrated not fully to non-independent territory types, from associated states to non-self-governing territories (e.g. a colony ). A dependent territory is commonly distinguished from
540-425: Is administered similarly to some of these territories, and is usually included on lists of U.S. overseas territories, but it is excluded from this list because it is classified in U.S. law as an incorporated territory. The U.S. Constitution does not apply in full to the insular areas. US-GU US-MP US-PR US-VI US-AS The following entities are, according to the law of their state, integral parts of
594-538: Is semi-officially termed the Rigsfællesskabet ("Unity of the Realm"). Bailiwick A bailiwick ( / ˈ b eɪ l ɪ w ɪ k / ) is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff , and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff 's functions under a royal or imperial writ . In English , the original French bailie combined with -wic ,
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#1732765236088648-741: Is the States Assembly , the first known mention of which is in a document of 1497. The States of Jersey Law 2005 introduced the post of Chief Minister of Jersey , abolished the Bailiff's power of dissent to a resolution of the States and the Lieutenant Governor's power of veto over a resolution of the States, and established that any Order in Council or Act of the United Kingdom proposed to apply to Jersey must be referred to
702-678: Is today used irrespective of the gender of the person who holds it. The Channel Islands are part of the territory annexed by the Duchy of Normandy in 933 from the Duchy of Brittany . This territory was added to the grant of land given in settlement by the King of France in 911 to the Viking raiders who had sailed up the Seine almost to the walls of Paris. William the Conqueror , Duke of Normandy, claimed
756-564: The Anglo-Saxon suffix (meaning a village) to produce a term meaning literally 'bailiff's village '—the original geographic scope of a bailiwick. In the 19th century, it was absorbed into American English as a metaphor for a sphere of knowledge or activity. The term can also be used colloquially to mean 'one's area of expertise' The term survives in administrative usage in the British Crown Dependencies of
810-704: The BES islands ( Bonaire , Sint Eustatius , and Saba ) of the Netherlands; Jan Mayen of Norway; and Palmyra Atoll of the United States. Entities with only limited unique autonomy, such as Barbuda of Antigua and Barbuda; Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia; the two autonomous regions (the Azores and Madeira ) of Portugal; Nevis of Saint Kitts and Nevis; the Canary Islands and the two autonomous cities ( Ceuta and Melilla ) of Spain; Northern Ireland of
864-503: The Channel Islands , which are grouped for administrative purposes into two bailiwicks – the Bailiwick of Jersey (comprising the island of Jersey and uninhabited islets such as the Minquiers and Écréhous ) and the Bailiwick of Guernsey (comprising the islands of Guernsey , Sark , Alderney , Brecqhou , Herm , Jethou and Lihou ). A Bailiff heads each Channel Island bailiwick. A bailiwick ( German : Ballei )
918-617: The Commonwealth Games . Each island's political development has been largely independent from, though often parallel with, that of the UK, and they are akin to "miniature states with wide powers of self-government". As the Crown Dependencies are not sovereign states, the power to pass legislation affecting the islands ultimately rests with the King-in-Council (though this power is rarely exercised without
972-1016: The Government of the Netherlands ). All citizens of the Dutch Kingdom share the same nationality and are thus citizens of the European Union , but only the European portion of the Kingdom is a part of the territory of the Union, the Customs Union , and the Eurozone while other areas have overseas countries and territory status. NL-AW NL-CW NL-SX Norway has, in the Arctic, one inhabited archipelago with restrictions placed on Norwegian sovereignty — Svalbard . Unlike
1026-557: The Lord of the Manor of Market End was the Earl of Derby who, in 1597, sold a 9,999-year lease to 31 principal tenants. This in effect gave the manorial rights to the leaseholders, ‘purchased for the benefit of those inhabitants or others who might hereafter obtain parts of the demesne’. The leaseholders elected a bailiff to receive the profits from the bailiwick, mainly from the administration of
1080-538: The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II , with Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories being allowed to take part for the first time. In the Dependencies, the only applicants were Douglas and Peel, both on the Isle of Man, and Douglas was granted the honour, making it the first formal city. According to the 1973 Kilbrandon Report , the Crown Dependencies are "like miniature states". According to
1134-469: The States of Alderney . The three parliaments together can also approve joint Bailiwick-wide legislation that applies in those parts of the Bailiwick whose parliaments approve it. There are no political parties in any of the parliaments; candidates stand for election as independents . The Bailiwick of Jersey consists of the island of Jersey and a number of surrounding uninhabited islands. The parliament
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#17327652360881188-470: The consent of the dependencies , and the right to do so is disputed). However, they each have their own legislative assembly , with power to legislate on many local matters with the assent of the Crown (the Privy Council , or, in the case of the Isle of Man, in certain circumstances the lieutenant-governor or, in the case of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Lieutenant-Governor). In Jersey and
1242-536: The constitution and respective basic laws. The SARs greatly differ from Mainland China in administrative, economic, legislative, and judicial terms including by currency, left-hand versus right-hand traffic , official languages, and immigration control. Although the PRC does claim sovereignty over Taiwan (governed by the Republic of China ), it is not listed here as the PRC government does not have de facto control of
1296-564: The countries of United Kingdom (UK), although they are not part of them. They have the status of "territories for which the United Kingdom is responsible", rather than sovereign states . As a result, they are not member states of the Commonwealth of Nations . However, they do have relationships with the Commonwealth and other international organisations, and are members of the British–Irish Council . They have their own teams in
1350-524: The Bailiwicks have had separate courts of appeal , but generally, the Bailiff of each Bailiwick has been appointed to serve on the panel of appellate judges for the other Bailiwick. The Bailiwick of Guernsey comprises three separate jurisdictions: The parliament of Guernsey is the States of Deliberation , the parliament of Sark is called the Chief Pleas , and the parliament of Alderney is called
1404-491: The Channel Islands as successive monarchs have confirmed the liberties and privileges of the Bailiwicks , often referring to the so-called Constitutions of King John , a legendary document supposed to have been granted by King John in the aftermath of 1204. Governments of the Bailiwicks have generally tried to avoid testing the limits of the unwritten constitution by avoiding conflict with British governments. Following
1458-432: The Channel Islands have been governed as: Each Bailiwick is a Crown dependency and each is headed by a Bailiff , with a Lieutenant Governor representing the Crown in each Bailiwick. Each Bailiwick has its own legal and healthcare systems and its own separate immigration policy, with "local status" in one Bailiwick having no validity in the other. The two Bailiwicks exercise bilateral double taxation treaties . Since 1961,
1512-417: The Crown by a panel in each respective Crown dependency; this replaced the previous system of the appointments being made by the Crown on the recommendation of UK ministers. In 2005, it was decided in the Isle of Man to replace the Lieutenant Governor with a Crown Commissioner , but this decision was reversed before it was implemented. "The Crown" is defined differently in each Crown Dependency. Legislation of
1566-573: The Isle of Man defines the "Crown in right of the Isle of Man" as being separate from the "Crown in right of the United Kingdom". In the Isle of Man the British monarch is styled Lord of Mann , a title variously held by Norse , Scottish and English kings and nobles (the English nobles in fealty to the English Crown) until it was revested into the British monarchy in 1765. The title "Lord"
1620-576: The Isle of Man, the head of government is called the chief minister . In Guernsey, the head representative of the committee-based government is the President of the Policy and Resources Committee . The term 'Crown Dependencies' has been disputed by Gavin St Pier , former Chief Minister of Guernsey . He argues that the term was an administrative invention of Whitehall , which incorrectly implies that
1674-494: The Keys as independents, rather than being selected by political parties . There is a Council of Ministers headed by a chief minister . Unlike the other Crown Dependencies, the Isle of Man has a Common Purse Agreement with the United Kingdom. As overseas territories were added to the land conquered by the British, a number of towns and villages began to request formal recognition to validate their importance, and would be accorded
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1728-640: The Kings of England as French fiefs, distinct from Normandy, until the Hundred Years' War , during which they were definitively separated from France. At no time did the Channel Islands form part of the Kingdom of England, and they remained legally separate, though under the same monarch, through the subsequent unions of England with Wales (1536), Scotland (1707) and Ireland (1801). Dependent territory A dependent territory , dependent area , or dependency (sometimes referred as an external territory )
1782-541: The Lieutenant Governor, using delegated powers, without having to pass through the Privy Council. In Jersey, provisional legislation of an administrative nature may be adopted by means of triennial regulations (renewable after three years), without requiring the assent of the Privy Council. Much legislation, in practice, is effected by means of secondary legislation under the authority of prior laws or Orders in Council. A unique constitutional position has arisen in
1836-664: The States so that the States can express their views on it. There are few political parties , as candidates generally stand for election as independents. The Isle of Man's Tynwald claims to be the world's oldest parliament in continuous existence, dating back to 979. (However, it does not claim to be the oldest parliament, as Iceland 's Althing dates back to 930.) It consists of a popularly elected House of Keys and an indirectly elected Legislative Council . These two branches may sit separately or jointly to consider pieces of legislation, which, when passed into law, are known as " Acts of Tynwald ". Candidates mostly stand for election to
1890-697: The UK. The UK Parliament retains the ability to legislate for the crown dependencies even without the agreement of their legislatures. No crown dependency has representation in the UK Parliament. Although they are British Overseas Territories , Bermuda and Gibraltar have similar relationships to the UK as do the Crown Dependencies. While the United Kingdom is officially responsible for their defence and international representation, these jurisdictions maintain their own militaries and have been granted limited diplomatic powers, in addition to having internal self-government. New Zealand and its dependencies share
1944-399: The United Kingdom; and entities with non-recognized unique autonomy, such as Kurdistan of Iraq; Wa of Myanmar; Gaza of Palestine; Puntland of Somalia; Rojava of Syria; and Zanzibar of Tanzania are also not included. All claims in Antarctica are listed in italics . Australia has six external territories in its administration and one Antarctic claim. Debate remains as to whether
1998-530: The United States was approved in 1976. The covenant was fully implemented on November 3, 1986, under Presidential Proclamation no. 5564, which conferred U.S. citizenship on legally qualified CNMI residents. Under the Constitution of Puerto Rico , Puerto Rico is described as a Commonwealth and Puerto Ricans have a degree of administrative autonomy similar to that of a citizen of a U.S. state . Puerto Ricans "were collectively made U.S. citizens " in 1917, as
2052-570: The United States. As sovereign states, these islands have the full right to conduct their foreign relations, while the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has territorial status subject to U.S. congressional authority under the Constitution's Territory Clause, "to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory… belonging to the United States." Puerto Rico does not have the right to unilaterally declare independence, and at
2106-599: The country's dependent territory ( Bouvet Island ) and Antarctic claims ( see above ), Svalbard is a part of the Kingdom of Norway. Three Crown Dependencies are in a form of association with the United Kingdom. They are independently administrated jurisdictions, although the British Government is solely responsible for defence and international representation and has ultimate responsibility for ensuring good government. They do not have diplomatic recognition as independent states, but neither are they integrated into
2160-572: The external territories are integral parts of Australia, due to their not being part of Australia in 1901, when its constituent states federated (with the exception of the Coral Sea Islands , which was a part of Queensland ). Norfolk Island was self-governing from 1979 to 2016. The external territories are often grouped separately from Australia proper for statistical purposes. The People's Republic of China (PRC) has two special administrative regions (SARs) that are governed according to
2214-589: The following: This list includes all territories that have not been legally incorporated into their governing state, including several territories that are not on the list of non-self-governing territories of the General Assembly of the United Nations . All claims in Antarctica are listed in italics . New Zealand has two self-governing associated states , one dependent territory, and
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2268-578: The islands are dependent upon the Crown, and advocates instead the use of the term 'Crown Dominion'. King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee Since 1290,
2322-404: The last referendum (1998), the narrow majority voted for "none of the above", which was a formally undefined alternative used by commonwealth supporters to express their desire for an "enhanced commonwealth" option. This kind of relationship can also be found in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is termed a federacy . The European continental part is organised like a unitary state. However,
2376-616: The restoration of King Charles II , who had spent part of his exile in Jersey, the Channel Islands were given the right to set their own customs duties, referred to by the Jersey Legal French term as impôts . The monarch is represented by a Lieutenant Governor in each Crown dependency, but this post is largely ceremonial. Since 2010 the Lieutenant Governors of each Crown dependency have been recommended to
2430-626: The same governor-general and constitute one monarchic realm . The Cook Islands and Niue are officially termed associated states . Puerto Rico (since 1952) and the Northern Mariana Islands (since 1986) are non-independent states freely associated with the United States. The mutually negotiated Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in Political Union with
2484-865: The same status as the regions of metropolitan France . Nonetheless, all of France's overseas territory is considered an integral part of the French Republic . FR-PF FR-BL FR-MF FR-PM FR-WF FR-NC FR-TF The Kingdom of the Netherlands comprises three autonomous "constituent countries" in the Caribbean (listed below) and one constituent country, the Netherlands , with most of its area in Europe but also encompassing three overseas Caribbean municipalities — Bonaire , Sint Eustatius , and Saba (these three Caribbean municipalities are excluded here because they are directly administered by
2538-502: The state but exhibit many characteristics of dependent territories. This list is generally limited to entities that are either subject to an international treaty on their status, uninhabited, or have a unique level of autonomy and are largely self-governing in matters other than international affairs. It generally does not include entities with no unique autonomy, such as the five overseas departments and regions ( French Guiana , Guadeloupe , Martinique , Mayotte , and Réunion ) of France;
2592-424: The status of its "constituent countries" in the Caribbean ( Aruba , Curaçao , and Sint Maarten ) can be considered akin to dependencies or "associated non-independent states." The Kingdom of Denmark also operates similarly, akin to another federacy. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are two self-governing territories or regions within the Kingdom. The relationship between Denmark proper and these two territories
2646-498: The term generally used was sénéchal (cf seneschal ) who held office in the sénéchaussée . The administrative network of baillages was established in the 13th century, based on the earlier medieval fiscal and tax divisions (the 'baillie') which had been used by earlier sovereign princes. (For more on this French judicial system, see bailli , prévôt and Early Modern France .) At Bicester in Oxfordshire ,
2700-615: The territory. CN-HK CN-MO The Kingdom of Denmark contains two autonomous territories with their own governments and legislatures, and input into foreign affairs. Finland has one autonomous region that is also subject to international treaties. FI-01 France has overseas six autonomous collectivities and two uninhabited territories (one of which includes an Antarctic claim). This does not include its "standard" overseas regions (which are also overseas departments ) of French Guiana , Guadeloupe , Martinique , Mayotte , and Réunion . Although also located overseas, they have
2754-603: The title King of England in 1066, following the death of Edward the Confessor , and secured the claim through the Norman conquest of England . Subsequent marriages between Kings of England and French nobles meant that Kings of England had title to more French lands than the King of France. When the King of France asserted his feudal right of patronage , the then-King of England, King John , fearing he would be imprisoned should he attend, failed to fulfill his obligation. In 1204,
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#17327652360882808-564: The title and lands of the Duchy of Normandy and his other French possessions were stripped from King John of England by the King of France. The Channel Islands remained in the possession of the King of England, who ruled them as Duke of Normandy until the Treaty of Paris in 1259. John's son, Henry III , renounced the title of Duke of Normandy by that treaty, and none of his successors ever revived it. The Channel Islands continued to be governed by
2862-411: Was also the territorial division of the Teutonic Order . Here, various Komtur(en) formed a Ballei province. The term originated in France ( bailie being the Old French term for a bailiff). Under the ancien régime in France, the bailli was the king's representative in a bailliage , charged with the application of justice and control of the administration. In southern France,
2916-500: Was never granted privileges of a city. What is now Peel Cathedral was later built nearby, but only raised to the status of a cathedral in the 1980s. The Channel Islands were at first part of a mainland French diocese , and then came under the Bishop of Winchester after the English Reformation . These islands had no cathedral. Since the year 2000, the UK government has arranged competitions to grant city status to settlements. In 2021, submissions for city status were invited to mark
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