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"Sovereign state" vs "Sovereign state responsible" for dependencies not part of the UK

Should the infoboxes of each of the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories (both dependencies), use next to United Kingdom, the term: "Sovereign state" or "Sovereign state responsible"?

Both types are not part of the UK itself,. With "Sovereign state: United Kingdom" long used for parts of the UK itself, so should it be distinguished for those not part of the UK technically?

The use of "responsible" (+ "for") was used on Bailiwick of Guernsey since 2023 until today. While it remains at Jersey since 2023, and Isle of Man since 2023, added by @Jèrriais janne:. I had used those examples to introduce "responsible" to all BOTs last week, until @~2026-42599-76: reverted them today, although @Roger 8 Roger: had contested one. "responsible" is usually wrapped onto a second line by the width of the infobox. Options:

• A: Sovereign state: United Kingdom
• B: Sovereign state responsible: United Kingdom
• C: other, like "Sovereign state [with footnote]", or only keep "responsible" to Crown Dependencies only?

There is no intention to somehow undermine the UK's sovereignty here, just clarity. Consider my position to be B, or secondly a footnote (C). Thanks. DankJae 22:33, 2 August 2026 (UTC)

A solution would be to change the ibx template - "Sovereign State' to 'Sovereignty'. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 06:02, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

That would be the simplest solution. Murgatroyd49 (talk) 07:52, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

So "Sovereignty: United Kingdom"? Seems ok. Although what link should it have? DankJae 13:08, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

The applicability of Option A, 'Sovereign state', to the Crown Dependencies and BOTs in this context is problematic, because it is generally used for territorial subdivisions of sovereign states where 'country' is ambiguous, e.g. England, Faroe Islands, French Polynesia. The distinction is important. The UK is not an upper-tier entity encompassing subordinate territories (like the Danish Realm or France) but a state who, by virtue of its being the largest, has responsibility over the other 17 non-sovereign but constitutionally equal entities in a single British realm. Using the same descriptor for England's relationship with the UK and Gibraltar or Jersey's relationship with the UK is, I think, misleading.

For the Crown Dependencies, Option B, 'sovereign state responsible' is the most accurate and backed by reliable sources, for instance Ministry of Justice Fact sheet on the UK’s relationship with the Crown Dependencies ("The Crown Dependencies are not recognised internationally as sovereign States in their own right but as 'territories for which the United Kingdom is responsible'") and Saalbach (2026). This is established in case law for example R (on the application of Barclay and others) (Appellants) v Secretary of State for Justice and others (Respondents) [2014] ("The Channel Islands are Crown dependencies but they are not part of the United Kingdom nor are they colonies ... The United Kingdom Government is responsible for their international relations and for their defence."). I wouldn't oppose a footnote beside it to explain that situation more clearly, but I don't think a footnote is really necessary given the constitutional setup is explained at length in each article and linked articles.

I disagree with @~2026-42599-76's reversions to the Crown Dependency-related articles as there is a lack of reasoning in simply claiming the UK's well-documented relationship with the Crown Dependencies to be "nonsense", and suggest they should be reverted unless the UK. I note @~2026-42599-76 did not make a similar reversion on Jersey where the statement is backed by reliable sources, so perhaps those should be applied to the other related articles too.

For the Overseas Territories I cannot claim to be as acquainted with the constitutional relationship. It seems that Gibraltar's constitution says "Gibraltar will remain part of Her Majesty's dominions" and that Gibraltar has "a degree of self-government which is compatible with British sovereignty of Gibraltar" makes it clear that Gibraltar cannot be classed as a sovereign state in its own right, but neither is it part of the United Kingdom. A 2014 communiqué by the UK government with the BOT governments presents the official view of the UK and the BOTs: it says "the UK, the Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies form one undivided Realm under the Crown"; it also acknowledges "the UK's sovereign responsibilities", which would seemingly support the ;Sovereign state responsible' language for the BOTs as well. That language is also used in written evidence given by the FCDO and a BBC article from 2014.

It would be interesting to look at a wider range of sources, especially secondary sources, on the Overseas Territories to better understand the extent to which the 'responsible' language is used by non-governmental sources, but nonetheless the evidence easily available suggests (1) the Overseas Territories are not part of the sovereign state of the UK and (2) the relationship is often framed around a responsibility by the UK for the territories. I'd therefore support @DankJae's changes the BOT articles to use the more precise 'sovereign state responsible' language. Jèrriais janne (talk) 17:29, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

@Jèrriais janne Would you be open to it just being trimmed to sovereignty? as @Murgatroyd49 and @Roger 8 Roger, suggested.

Don't mind either, anything other just "sovereign state". A footnote could be added if "sovereignty" is too short. DankJae 18:45, 6 August 2026 (UTC)

I think it's a little bit more confusing than "Sovereign state responsible"; it could be ambiguous because it doesn't specify which way the sovereignty flows (under the sovereignty of or having sovereignty over). It would also be inaccurate, at least in the case of the Crown Dependencies, Sovereignty is vested in the Crown, not in the United Kingdom.

That said, I don't think the OTs and CDs need to have the same format though, because their constitutional relationship is different.

I think "Sovereign state responsible" for the Crown Dependencies and "Under sovereignty of" for the BOTs could be a good compromise? Jèrriais janne (talk) 19:35, 6 August 2026 (UTC)

For the Crown Dependencies, I'll restore "Sovereign state responsible: United Kingdom" in the relevant articles, in particular to resolve the current inconsistency between Jersey, where the wording was retained with a cited source, and Guernsey and the Isle of Man, where it was removed. The current inconsistency could misleadingly suggest that Jersey has a different constitutional relationship with the UK from Guernsey or the Isle of Man. The wording is supported by the sources discussed above, including the Ministry of Justice and Supreme Court sources. I'll add the Ministry of Justice fact sheet as a citation as it is in Jersey to the relevant edits.

This is simply to resolve the current inconsistency while the wider discussion continues, rather than to pre-empt or close that discussion. The discussion remains open for editors to determine the most appropriate wording going forward, and further comments or alternative proposals are welcome, including on the Crown Dependencies wording. Jèrriais janne (talk) 17:07, 8 August 2026 (UTC)

Further to the above, I'd note that Isle of Man was also not reverted, so it was only Guernsey which currently lacked the "responsible" wording. Jèrriais janne (talk) 17:17, 8 August 2026 (UTC)

@Murgatroyd49, @Roger 8 Roger, is @Jèrriais janne's proposal for "Under sovereignty of" for BOTs a suitable alternative or should just be "sovereignty"? DankJae 16:59, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

Sovereignty should be fine, infobox parameters shouldn't be too wordy Murgatroyd49 (talk) 20:43, 9 August 2026 (UTC)

Let's not complicate the matter further - 'sovereignty' is unambiguous and simple. Roger 8 Roger (talk) 06:36, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

While I still think "Sovereignty" is potentially confusing, it lines up well enough with established sources for the BOTs and is less confusing than "Sovereign state", so on those grounds, I'm supportive of it. (@DankJae I think this is a consensus of the engaged users?) Jèrriais janne (talk) 12:46, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

@Jèrriais janne, @Murgatroyd49, @Roger 8 Roger, amended them, let's see if it'll stick. DankJae 15:49, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

Fine by me Murgatroyd49 (talk) 16:36, 23 August 2026 (UTC)

Requested move at Talk:Two-tier policing#Requested move 11 August 2026

There is a requested move discussion at Talk:Two-tier policing#Requested move 11 August 2026 that may be of interest to members of this WikiProject. TarnishedPath^talk 12:32, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Wikimedian in Residence

From today, I am Wikimedian in Residence at The Gazette.

Please see Wikipedia:GLAM/The Gazette for details, and let me know if you have any suggestions or requests. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 13:59, 11 August 2026 (UTC)

Congratulations Murgatroyd49 (talk) 11:09, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

Harold Wilson has an RfC

Harold Wilson has an RfC for possible consensus. A discussion is taking place. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments on the discussion page. Thank you. John Adams 362 (talk) 00:13, 3 September 2026 (UTC)

List of United Kingdom by-elections (2024–present)

There is a deletion discussion regarding this page which will be of interest to members of this project. Boynamedsue (talk) 01:58, 27 September 2026 (UTC)

State Visit to Guyana

The page Draft: State visit by Charles III to Guyana needs help. Robin S. Taylor (talk) 20:49, 1 November 2026 (UTC)