One of the smallest Legislatures in the Commonwealth has joined the membership of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) – a network of 180 Commonwealth Parliaments around the world. The CPA has a unique role in representing national, state, provincial and territorial Legislatures in the Commonwealth.

The Chief Pleas of Sark has received formal confirmation as a CPA Branch by the 2025 CPA General Assembly, held at the 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in Barbados on 10 October 2025. Delegates attend the CPA General Assembly on behalf of all CPA Branches. The proposal was also approved at the Mid-Year Meeting of the CPA International Executive Committee in London in May 2025.

The Speaker of Chief Pleas of Sark, Hon. Paul Armorgie said:

''Sark is proud to take up its place as a member of the CPA and to promote the values of the CPA, working in partnership with our Crown Dependency friends and neighbours.”

The Speaker also becomes the CPA Sark Branch Chairperson.

The decision to admit Sark to the Association reflects the CPA’s recognition of the Chief Pleas of Sark as a legislative institution and parliamentary body committed to the principles of good governance, democratic representation, and the rule of law, which underpin the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s mission.

The CPA Secretary-General, Stephen Twigg said:

“We are pleased to welcome the Chief Pleas of Sark into the CPA membership and are confident that its inclusion will further enrich the Association’s diversity and the exchange of parliamentary practice among CPA Branches and Members. We look forward to a constructive and collegial relationship with the Sark Legislature.”

The Chief Pleas of Sark is both the Legislature and Executive for the small island of Sark in the English Channel, part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing jurisdiction, part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and with a direct relationship with the Crown, with its own laws and has a population of about 600 people. The Chief Pleas of Sark comprises 18 Members (known as Conseillers) who are elected for a period of four years (with half facing elections every two years).

In addition, the Seigneur of Sark (hereditary role) and a Speaker (who is elected by the Conseillers) are counted as Members of the Chief Pleas but they have no right to vote. Elections are held on the basis of a single multi-member Sark-wide constituency, with the nine candidates receiving most votes being elected. The Greffier is the Clerk of the Legislature.

The CPA Sark Branch joins the CPA British Islands and Mediterranean Region (BIM) which consists of 14 Parliaments and Legislatures spread across Europe and the Atlantic Ocean.

• Find out more about the CPA Sark Branch here.

Sark also joins the CPA Small Branches network which represents the Parliaments in the smallest jurisdictions of the Commonwealth to identify their particular needs and requirements in parliamentary strengthening, development and cooperation. CPA Small Branches are classified as those jurisdictions (national and sub-national) with populations of up to 1 million inhabitants.

• To find out more about the work of the CPA Small Branches network please click here.

-ENDS- 

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) is an international community of 180 Parliaments at national, state, provincial and territorial level working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance.  

The CPA Small Branches network represents the Parliaments in the small jurisdictions of the Commonwealth to identify their particular needs and requirements in parliamentary strengthening, development and cooperation. CPA Small Branches are classified as those jurisdictions (national and sub-national) with populations of up to 1 million inhabitants.