However, articles 309 and 310 of the Convention stipulate that “no reservation or exception may be made to this Convention except as expressly permitted by other articles of this Convention” and that if a signatory State makes a declaration at the time of ratification, such declaration “shall not be intended to exclude or modify the legal effect of the provisions of this Convention in the course of their application”. [41] Gibraltar was eternally British after the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713. When the city of Gibraltar was granted city status in 1842, it was granted under diocesan letters patent rather than the normal letters patent of city status. As a result, the city of Gibraltar has never been on the official list of recognised cities of the Ministry of the Interior. The same article 2 of resolution 1514 (XV) states: “All peoples have the right to self-determination; By virtue of this right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. In Queen Elizabeth II`s Platinum Jubilee year, the updated list will be released after eight new city awards earlier this year and Southend-on-Sea was awarded in honour of Sir David Amest MP. The Government of the United Kingdom will today (Monday, 29 August) reaffirm Queen Victoria`s status as a city of Gibraltar and reaffirm its special status in the realms of Her Majesty The Queen and the family of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the Overseas Territories. At the end of 2008, the European Commission included most of the territorial waters surrounding Gibraltar in a marine protected area called “Estrecho Oriental”, managed by Spain. The United Kingdom, with the support of Gibraltar, initiated judicial proceedings, which were initially dismissed by the Court on procedural grounds. An appeal filed in 2011 was also dismissed on procedural grounds. [43] The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against this appeal again in 2012.
[44] 2. In ratifying the Convention, Spain wishes to make it clear that this act cannot be interpreted as recognition of rights or statutes relating to the maritime space of Gibraltar which do not appear in article 10 of the Treaty of Utrecht of 13 July 1713 between the Crowns of Spain and Great Britain. Furthermore, the Kingdom of Spain does not consider that Resolution III of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea is applicable to the colony of Gibraltar, which is the subject of a decolonisation process in which only the relevant resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly are applicable. [39] In 2022, Gibraltar applied for city status as part of the Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours. The offer was declined, but when researchers searched the National Archives, they found that it had already been recognized as a city by Queen Victoria in 1842. [54] The Statute entered into force on 29 August 2022. [55] A referendum in 2006 adopted a new constitutional order that moved Gibraltar into a Crown-like relationship with the United Kingdom rather than the previous colonial status. [34] The new constitution entered into force in January 2007. Gibraltar is classified as a British Overseas Territory.
In 1967, Gibraltar enacted the Companies (Taxation and Concessions) Ordinance (now an Act), which provided special tax treatment for international transactions. [90] This is one of the factors that has led to the growth of professional services such as private banking and captive insurance management. Gibraltar has several attractive features as a financial centre, including a common law legal system and access to the EU`s single market for financial services. In January 2018, Gibraltar introduced a regulatory framework for distributed ledger technology, with the aim of adopting a “more flexible and adaptable approach”. new activities, products and business models.” [91] [92] The Financial Services Commission (FSC),[93] established in 1989 by regulation (now legislation) that came into force in 1991, regulates the financial sector. [94] In 1997, the Department of Trade and Industry established its Gibraltar Finance Centre (GFC) to facilitate financial sector development. In 2012, Gibraltar had 0.103 Big Four accounting firms per 1,000 inhabitants, the second highest in the world after the British Virgin Islands, and 0.6 banks per 1,000 inhabitants, the fifth highest number of banks per capita in the world. [95] In 2017[update], there is great uncertainty about continued access to the EU single market after the next Brexit. [96] This status reflects the close relationship between Gibraltar and the UK, with 99% of Gibraltarians reaffirming their commitment to British sovereignty in a referendum in 2002. The people of Gibraltar had sought a more modern status and relationship with the United Kingdom, reflecting and expanding the current level of self-government.
Over the years, the United Nations had established a doctrine on the colonial status of Gibraltar. According to that doctrine, Gibraltar was now a zone without autonomy until decolonization. As such, it is not part of the territory of the United Kingdom, which is its administrative power and is responsible for its external relations. The existence of a colonial situation in Gibraltar violated Spain`s territorial integrity and must be brought to an end through bilateral negotiations between the United Kingdom and Spain. Negotiations on sovereignty are the exclusive competence of the Governments of Spain and the United Kingdom. Gibraltar was conquered in 1704 by a force led by Admiral Sir George Rooke, representing the Grand Alliance on behalf of Archduke Charles, the pretender to the Spanish throne. After the battle, almost all the inhabitants decided to leave. Spanish attempts to retake the region during the twelfth siege of Gibraltar failed, and it was finally ceded by Spain to the Kingdom of Great Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 as part of the settlement of the War of the Spanish Succession.[2] In this treaty, Spain ceded to Great Britain “full and complete ownership of the city and castle of Gibraltar, as well as the port, fortifications and forts belonging to it.
forever, without any exception or hindrance. Gibraltar became part of the European Union after acceding to the European Communities (United Kingdom) Act 1972, which implemented the 1972 Treaty of Accession, as a dependent territory of the United Kingdom under what was then Article 227(4) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, which included special territories of the Member States, with the exception of certain territories such as the Customs Union of the European Union. Common agricultural policy and Schengen area. It is the only British Overseas Territory that was part of the European Union. After a 10-year campaign for the right to vote in the European elections, the people of Gibraltar participated in the European Parliament elections from 2004 to 2019 in the South West constituency of England. [64] On 23 June 2016, Gibraltar voted with the UK in the EU referendum; 96% of the population voted to remain, but the overall result of the UK gave a majority of 51.9% to leave the EU. [65] Nevertheless, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated on 18 October 2018 that the Gibraltar Protocol had been “resolved” and that Spain would have no objection if Gibraltar left the EU with the UK. [66] [67] In ancient times, Gibraltar was considered by the peoples of the Mediterranean as a place of religious and symbolic importance.