Catalogue description Home Office: Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Northern Ireland Files (CIM and ISL Symbol Series)

Files from the Home Office CIM and ISL (Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Northern Ireland) series. They relate to constitutional and other matters respecting the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.

For information on the appraisal and selection decisions applied to records produced by Home Office in the CIM series see Operational Selection Policy OSP 13, Britain's Diplomatic Relations, 1973-1996.

Earlier files on Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Northern Ireland may be found in HO45 and HO144.

CIM files relating solely to Northern Ireland which were transferred to the Northern Ireland Office when it was established in 1972 may be found in CJ3. Some files of local interest have been deposited at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland.

Home Office, 1782-

From 1991 Home Office

The functions of the Home Secretary in relation to the Channel Islands and Isle of Man derived from the royal prerogative and from the Home Secretary's special role as a Privy Counsellor rather than from statute. They were: to act as the channel of communication between Island governments and the Crown (which is ultimately responsible for the good government of the Islands) and the United Kingdom government (which is responsible for their defence and international relations); to scrutinise insular law and advise the Privy Council on its ratification; to secure, where appropriate, the extension of United Kingdom laws to the Islands after consultation with their governments; and to advise the Crown on the appointment of Crown officers in the Islands. The Home Secretary's functions transferred to the Lord Chancellor's Department (later the Department for Constitutional Affairs) in 2001.