The Parliament of the Cayman Islands, located on Fort Street in George Town, is the central seat of the country’s legislative authority and a landmark in Cayman’s continuing journey of representative government.
Cayman’s modern Legislative Assembly was established under the Islands’ first written Constitution in 1959, replacing the much older Assembly of Justices and Vestry. For more than a decade, however, legislators continued to meet in the George Town Town Hall.
As Cayman grew, the need for a purpose-built home for the legislature became increasingly clear. The former Princess Royal Park was selected as the site of the new Legislative Assembly building, with plans taking shape around the beginning of the 1970s.
On 29 September 1971, respected Caymanian builder and former legislator Captain Rayal Bodden laid the building’s black-marble cornerstone. Bodden had also built the nearby Town Hall where Assembly meetings were still being held. During the ceremony, he spoke about the importance of Parliament in preserving democratic government, fundamental rights, regular elections and freedom of speech.
The Legislative Assembly building was officially opened on 31 July 1972 by Governor Kenneth R. Crook, giving Cayman’s legislature its first permanent purpose-built home. The building was designed by Rutkowski Bradford and Partners and constructed by McAlpine (Cayman) Ltd. and Arch Construction.
Later that year, a new Constitution came into effect, introducing significant changes to Cayman’s system of government. Elected members of the Executive Council were given responsibility for specific areas of government, appointed members were removed and the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18. A later constitutional amendment in 1993 provided for a Speaker to preside over the Legislative Assembly.
For almost five decades, the building remained known as the Legislative Assembly. In December 2020, constitutional changes renamed the legislature the Parliament of the Cayman Islands, marking another stage in the evolution of Cayman’s democratic institutions.
Today, Parliament remains the place where elected representatives debate legislation and make decisions affecting the future of the Cayman Islands. Standing beside other historic civic landmarks in George Town, the building represents both the development of modern government and Cayman’s much longer tradition of representative democracy.
Did You Know?
- The building opened in 1974, shortly after the 1972 Constitution.
- It was formerly known as the Legislative Assembly.
- It is the centre of law-making in the Cayman Islands.
- It stands in the heart of George Town’s government district.