Trinidad and Tobago Independence Act 1962

Trinidad and Tobago Independence Act 1962
	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make provision for, and in connection with, the attainment by Trinidad and Tobago of fully responsible status within the Commonwealth.
Citation	1962 c. 54
Dates
Royal assent	1 August 1962
Status: Current legislation
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Trinidad and Tobago Independence Act 1962 (c. 54) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted independence to Trinidad and Tobago with effect from 31 August 1962. The Act also provided for the granting of a new Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago to take effect upon independence.

As a result of the Act, Trinidad and Tobago became an independent country in the West Indies achieving independence from the United Kingdom.

Background to enactment

The bill was first presented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as the Trinidad and Tobago Independence Bill on 4 July 1962, by Secretary of State for the Colonies, Reginald Maudling.^[1] It was passed in the House of Commons after a third reading and committee on 6 July 1962, without amendments.^[2] It entered the House of Lords on 9 July 1962 and was read by George Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne (The Minister of State for Colonial Affairs) on 16 July 1962.^[3] It was passed in the House of Lords on 26 July 1962 without any amendments.^[4]

The bill received Royal assent on 1 August 1962, from Queen Elizabeth II and was published in The London Gazette on 3 August 1962.^[5]

Key areas of the Act included:

Section 1 - ceding responsibility from the United Kingdom
Section 2 - effects of citizenship and British nationality. This section was later repealed by the British Nationality Act 1981.
First Schedule - granting legislative powers to the legislature of Trinidad and Tobago

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