politics of the british virgin islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the premier is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. the british virgin islands (officially the "virgin islands") are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the united kingdom. the united nations committee on decolonization includes the islands on the united nations list of non-self-governing territories. the constitution of the islands was introduced in 1971 and amended in 1979, 1982, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2007. executive power is exercised by the government. legislative power is vested in both the government and the house of assembly. the judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. military defence is the responsibility of the united kingdom.