Saint Kitts and Nevis is a West Indies island State located in the Caribbean Sea. The population of this country is approx 47,606 with 261 square kilometers area. Ethnically 92% black, 3% mixed, 5% European, Indian and others. Religiously 94% Christian, almost all of whom are Protestant. The official language is English.
The constitutions of all the Caribbean countries are copy-paste of each other. There are a few minor changes. The articles of the constitution of Saint Kitts and Nevis are not well organized, each article is unnecessarily long and complicated. For example, Article 45. This article has 521 characters, and the whole sentence is complicated. The point could have been simply stated: “No civil or criminal case may be brought against anyone for any reason related to any statement, bill, proposal or report raised in Parliament or its committees.”
The most alarming aspect of the constitution is its support for secessionism. This island country is divided into two islands: Saint Kitts, which has an area of 168 square kilometers, and Nevis, which has an area of 93 square kilometers. The distance between the two is only 3 kilometers. While the entire state has its own federal parliament, Nevis has a separate parliament. Mentionable that, here is the list of the smallest countries by size among the UN member states:
- Monaco – 2.08 km²
- Nauru – 21 km²
- Tuvalu – 26 km²
- San Marino – 61 km²
- Liechtenstein – 160 km²
- Saint Kitts and Nevis – 261 km²
And in Saint Kitts and Nevis, the majority of citizens are black, Christian and English-speaking. Even so, Nevis is interested in secession.
Admirable Articles of Saint Kitts and Nevis's Constitution
7. Protection from inhuman treatment
A person shall not be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading punishment or other like treatment.
45. Freedom of speech
Without prejudice to any provision made by Parliament relating to the powers, privileges and immunities of the National Assembly and its committees, or the privileges and immunities of the members and officers of the Assembly and of other persons concerned in the business of the Assembly or its committees, no civil or criminal proceedings may be or written in a report to, the Assembly or a committee thereof or by reason of any matter or thing brought by him therein by petition, bill, resolution, motion or otherwise.
73. Warrants for unforeseen expenditure
● If it appears to the Minister for the time being responsible for finance that-
● there is an urgent need to incur expenditure;
● no provision exist for that expenditure in any appropriation law or other law; and
● it would not be in the public interest to delay the authorization of that expenditure until such time as a supplementary estimate can be laid before the National Assembly,
● the Minister may, by special warrant, authorize
the issue from the Consolidated Fund of the money required to meet that
expenditure:
Provided that the total such for the time being
authorized to be issued under this subsection, for which no provisions
has been made by an appropriation law, shall not exceed such amount as
may be prescribed by Parliament.
● Where in any financial year any expenditure has been authorized by special warrant under subsection (1) the Minister for the time being responsible for finance shall cause a supplementary estimate relating to that expenditure to be laid before the National Assembly at the first sitting of the Assembly occurring after the expiration of fourteen days from the date of the warrant and a supplementary appropriation bill shall be introduced in the Assembly providing for the issue of the sums authorized to be spent and appropriating them to the purposed specified therein.
Facts of Saint Kitts and Nevis's Constitution
Preamble (Part of it)
WHEREAS the People of Saint Christopher and Nevis
● declare that the nation is established on the belief in Almighty God and the inherent dignity of each individual;
NOW THEREFORE, the following provisions shall have effect as the Constitution of Saint Christopher and Nevis:
21. Establishment of office
There shall be for Saint Christopher and Nevis a Governor-General who shall be a citizen appointed by Her Majesty and shall hold office during Her Majesty's pleasure and who shall be Her Majesty's representative in Saint Christopher and Nevis.
CHAPTER X. THE ISLAND OF NEVIS
100. Nevis Island Legislature
There shall be a legislature for the island of Nevis, which shall be styled the Nevis Island Legislature and shall consist of Her Majesty and an assembly styled the Nevis Island Assembly.
102. Nevis Island Administration (Part of it)
● There shall be a Nevis Island Administration, which shall consist of-
● a Premier; and
● two other members or not less than two nor more than such greater number of members as the Nevis Island Legislature may prescribe, who shall be appointed by the Governor-General.
● The Governor-General, acting in his own deliberate judgment, shall appoint as Premier an elected member of the Assembly who seems to him likely to command the support of the majority of the elected members of the Assembly.
103. Power to make laws
● Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Nevis Island Legislature may make laws, which shall be styled Ordinances, for the peace, order and good government of the island of Nevis with respect to the specified matters.
● A law made by the Nevis Island Legislature may contain incidental and supplementary provisions that relate to a matter other than a specified matter but if there is any inconsistency between those provisions and the provisions of any enacted by Parliament, the provisions of the law enacted by Parliament shall prevail.
113. Separation of Nevis from Saint Christopher (Part of it)
● The Nevis Island Legislature may provide that the island of Nevis shall cease to be federated with the island of Saint Christopher and accordingly that this Constitution shall no longer have effect in the island of Nevis.
● A bill for the purposes of subsection (1) shall not be regarded as being passed by the Assembly unless on its final reading the bill is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the elected member of the Assembly and such a bill shall not be submitted to the Governor-General for his assent unless-
● there has been an interval of not less than ninety days between the introduction of the bill in the Assembly and the beginning of the proceedings in the Assembly on the second reading of the bill,
● after it has been passed by the Assembly, the bill has been approved in a referendum held in the island of Nevis by not less than two-thirds of all the votes validly cast on that referendum; and
● full and detailed proposal for the future
constitution of the island of Nevis (whether as a separate states or as
part of or in association with some other country) have been laid before
the Assembly for at least six months before the holding of the
referendum and those proposals, with adequate explanations of their
significance, have been made available to the persons entitled to vote
on the referendum at least ninety days before the holding of the
referendum.
