The Falkland Islands Constitution is a predominantly codified constitution documented primarily within the Falkland Islands Constitution Order 2008, a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom. The Constitution, in its present form, was made on 5 November 2008 by Queen Elizabeth II in a meeting of the Privy Council at Buckingham Palace. It was laid before Parliament on 12 November 2008 and came into force on 1 January 2009, replacing the 1985 constitution. History After the reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falklands in 1833, the islands were administered under military law by the British Admiralty. At the start of the 1840s colonists began to settle in the islands. As a result, in 1842 the Falklands were put under the control of a Civil Administrator (later becoming the office of Governor) under the Colonial Office and in 1843 the islands officially became a Crown Colony. In 1845 the first Governor of the Falkland Islands, Richard Moody, formally inaugurated the Executive Council and Legislative Council in the newly founded town of Stanley. The members of both councils were appointed by the Governor until 1949 when the first elections took place for four of the twelve members of the Legislative Council. In 1964 the membership of the Legislative Council was reduced to eight and in 1977 the number of elected members was increased to six, eliminating all remaining appointed members of the Council and giving the elected members a majority of the seats. The membership of the Executive Council was also updated, with two seats reserved for elected members of the Legislative Council. The Falklands became a British Dependent Territory in 1981 with the British Nationality Act 1981 and in 1983 the Falkland Islanders were granted British citizenship under the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983. On 18 April 1985 the Falkland Islands Constitution Order 1985 came into force which increased the number of elected members of the Legislative Council to eight and guaranteed the Falkland Islanders' rights and constitutional arrangements. In 1997 the constitution was amended with regard to voters rights and in 2002 the Falklands became a British Overseas Territory with the implantation of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002. On 1 January 2009 the current constitution came into force with the Falkland Islands Constitution Order 2008, replacing the 1985 version. The new constitution modernised the Chapter on fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual and embedded self-determination in the main