Pays d'outre-mer
Encyclopedia : P : PA : PAY : Pays d'outre-mer
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Pays d'outre-mer (POM, French for 'overseas country') is the particular designation the collectivité d'outre-mer (COM) of French Polynesia. French Polynesia was formerly a territoire d'outre-mer (TOM) until the constitutional reform on 28 March 2003 suppressed this category and created the collectivité d'outre-mer. The organic law passed on 27 February 2004 gives French Polynesia the particular designation of pays d'outre-mer while recalling that it belongs to the category of collectivités d'outre-mer. The constitutional council (conseil constitutionnel) has ruled that pays d'outre-mer was just a designation, not a legal status (which would have been unconstitutional).
The territory's new status meant a certain autonomy for French Polynesia in the Pacific region, the possibility for the territory to pass some laws of its own, and the establishment of a local French Polynesian citizenship based on permanent residence, which is a requirement for the right to vote in regional elections. However, France maintained control over justice, public order, the economy and defence in the territory.
New Caledonia, which has a unique status (collectivité sui generis) within the framework of the French Republic, is also sometimes called pays d'outre-mer, but this is strictly an incorrect designation. If the people of New Caledonia choose to remain part of France in a referendum on independence scheduled for 2014 or later, the community may also become a pays d'outre-mer. New Caledonia has unique status in that its assembly may also pass its own laws (lois de pays) and to bestow a local citizenship upon its permanent residents, and unlike in other French subdivisions (except for Corsica), the president of the assembly and the president of the territory are different.
Further reading
- Frédéric Monera, L'idée de République et la jurisprudence du Conseil constitutionnel - Paris : L.G.D.J., 2004 []-[link];
See also
External links
- [Official site]
- [past and current developments of France's overseas administrative divisions like pays d'outre-mer (French language)]
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