The constitutional status of Sark

Abstract

Sark is a very small sub-national island jurisdiction held by a feudal property right from the British Monarch; Sark is mostly self-governing, although responsibility for its defence and external affairs lies with the British government. This article takes a legal- historical document-based approach to exploring whether Sark can be correctly described as a Crown Dependency in its own right, using criteria relating to its governance, geopolitical status, and international and domestic relationships.