There are several constitutional offices in the Virgin Islands. Positions such as Attorney General, Director of Public Prosecutions, the Complaints Commissioner, Auditor General and Register of Interests, to name a few. Photo: VINO/File

The Complaints Commissioner is a constitutional office in the Virgin Islands. Photo: VINO/File

The House of Assembly (HoA), in a Committee of the whole House reviewing the Lisa E. Penn-Lettsome constitutional report, considered whether certain constitutionally established offices should shift from having open-ended tenures to fixed terms that can be renewed. Photo: VINO/File

The House of Assembly (HoA), in a  Committee of the whole House reviewing the Lisa E. Penn-Lettsome constitutional report, considered whether certain constitutionally established offices should shift from having open-ended tenures to fixed terms that can be renewed.

The goal was to modernise governance by allowing regular renewals and performance-based continuity, while still protecting independence with secure tenure during the term and constitutional safeguards for removal.

Committee Decision

The House Committee of all elected members agreed that specified constitutional offices should be held for defined renewable terms, and that term expiry should be treated as natural expiration rather than removal.

Elected Members also agreed that the Attorney General should be treated differently under the adopted Bermuda-style model, with fixed-term tenure applying only where the office is held by a public officer.

Therefore, a constitutional amendment was proposed on this matter to give effect to the Members' position for the London-based constitutional negotiations.

Rationale

The Committee of the elected members acknowledged that indefinite tenure has traditionally been regarded as a safeguard for the independence of key oversight offices. However, the Committee considered that renewable fixed terms, combined with clear constitutional guarantees of independence and established removal procedures, can provide an appropriate balance between institutional autonomy and accountability.

Members also emphasised the need for careful transitional provisions to preserve accrued rights and avoid uncertainty.

There continues to be widespread concerns about the performance and integrity of some persons holding constitutional offices and whether they continue to act in the best interest of the Territory or use their offices as weapons to victimise and terrorise residents.