BIOT Laws - the Ordinances
Revised Laws of the BIOT
In 2020 the BIOT Administration published the "Revised Ordinances and Regulations of the British Indian Ocean Territory". These were prepared by the Law Revision Commissioner under the authority of the Law Revision Ordinance 2015.
The Revised Ordinances and Regulations consolidate original Ordinances and Regulations together with any subsequent changes and state the law as at 1 September 2020. It is necessary therefore to consult any subsequent law which may amend these.
It is not known whether the Revised Laws amount to a comprehensive revision or whether only certain areas have been revised, nor the logic behind those chosen for revision. As is usual for all things to do with the BIOT, the revision has been given little publicity. These Revised Laws were obtained from the BIOT Administration in April 2022 when they came to my attention and not without several prompts to the FCDO to obtain them. As far as I know they have not been published in the Gazette.
They appear to have been published as a number of “Chapters” - that format has been retained and all the Revised Laws are now available from the Zotero Library (see below) .
British Indian Ocean Territory Official Gazette - Vol 1. No 1. - 13 December 1965
Where is BIOT Legislation recorded?
In a minute dated 11 January 1971, when the UK Government was drawing up legislation (the Immigration Ordinance 1971) to deport the Chagos Islanders, a Foreign Office legal adviser, Anthony Aust wrote:
"The ordinance would be published in the BIOT Gazette, which has only very limited circulation both here and overseas, after signature by the Commissioner. Publicity will therefore be minimal."
The infamous Ordinance to which Aust referred, banned all persons from the islands. However, the same 'secrecy' applies to all of the legislation of the British Indian Ocean Territory, both then and now. It is not widely publicised.
A copy of each BIOT Gazette is required to be deposited in the British Library for public access. In 2010 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was informed that the British Library had no record of having received a large number of BIOT Gazettes. After extensive correspondence and pressure, the FCO accepted that this needed to be corrected. Missing Gazettes have now been supplied to the British Library.
The BIOT Ordinances
Since 1965 until the end of 2010 there had been 432 separate items of legislation enacted for the BIOT.
The laws of the BIOT derive their authority under the Royal Prerogative. Through the 'British Indian Ocean Territory Order 1965' (an Order in Council), the Queen vested duties and powers on the Commissioner to make 'laws for the peace, order and good government of the Territory". Today, the relevant Order in Council is the 'British Indian Ocean Territory (Constitution) Order 2004'.
All Ordinances and Statutory Instruments for the BIOT are enacted by the BIOT Commissioner without recourse to higher authority, and free of any democratic scrutiny, including the UK Parliament. In addition, certain other legislation that applies to the colonies (now Overseas Territories) is enacted directly by Order in Council from the FCO in London.
The BIOT Commissioner has never been resident in the territory. Initially the office was held by the Governor of the Seychelles, but since Seychelles achieved independence in 1976, the Commissioner has resided in London. [further information see page "BIOT Administration"]
Access to BIOT Legislation and Gazettes
Because of the difficulties of access, copies of all Gazettes and Legislation affecting the BIOT have been placed below in Zipped folders. These may be downloaded and unpacked. The initial series runs from 1965 until 2009.
Later years are added when the FCO agree to supply them to me, currently the Zotero Library of Ordinances are believed to be up to date to the end of 2022. Some of the subsidiary legislation (e.g. UK Statutory Instruments which apply to BIOT) may not be complete.
ZOTERO LIBRARY OF GAZETTES & LEGISLATION
As a more recent project, a Group Library has been created in Zotero. It is more up-to-date than the records in the Zip files below. Access this Group Library here: Zotero Library of BIOT Gazettes & Legislation.
You will be able to view the contents of Library but you will only be able to read and download the documents by registering (free) for Zotero and then sending a request to me to join the Group.
From 2017 onwards the BIOT Administration has started to claim copyright over each Ordinance. Despite enquiries, they have been unable to clarify whether this claim to copyright is under UK copyright law or BIOT copyright law. Fundamentally under either law they would be Crown Copyright and therefore governed by the UK Open Government Licence. Increasingly those administering BIOT (UK civil servants based in London) are living in an 'Alice in Wonderland' world.
Following the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice in 2019 there must be doubt that any of the laws of the BIOT are in fact enforceable, since the administration has been deemed unlawful 'ab initio' under customary international law.
Page last updated: 22 April 2023