Latin America and the Caribbean
Source tier C. Conventions checked 2026-07-29.
Drug and firearms law in Montserrat: statutes on record and in force
Montserrat, in Latin America and the Caribbean, takes its treaty obligations by extension from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rather than by its own ratification. It appears on neither FATF list. Its legislation on record runs to 4 confirmed instruments, the earliest from 2010. The record is set out in the order the obligations arrive: treaty first, statute second, enforcement last.
International framework
Montserrat is not a party to these instruments in its own right. It is a territory whose treaty obligations are extended by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, so the operative dates below are that state's dates and the obligations apply as extended. This is the ordinary position for dependent territories and is frequently misread as non-ratification.
Montserrat is bound by all four instruments this dataset tracks, the earliest from 1991 and the most recent from 2006.
| Instrument | Adopted | Extended from | Depositary reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Convention | 1988 | 28 Jun 1991 | Chapter VI-19 |
| UNTOC | 2000 | 9 Feb 2006 | Chapter XVIII-12 |
| UNCAC | 2003 | 9 Feb 2006 | Chapter XVIII-14 |
| Firearms Protocol | 2001 | 6 May 2002 | Chapter XVIII-12-c |
What each instrument obliges a party to do is set out once, per instrument, in the conventions reference. The dates above are what is specific to Montserrat: they are the points from which each obligation began to bind, taken from the depositary's own status tables.
National legislation
Below are the confirmed instruments, given in their enacted titles. Where a register supplies a citation number it is carried through unchanged.
Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2013 — An amending instrument in the anti-money-laundering legislation, which is where the operative text of an older act is usually found. Confirmed against the Organization of American States, checked 2026-07-30.
Proceeds of Crime Act 2010 — A principal anti-money-laundering instrument, carrying the laundering and proceeds obligations common to the 1988 Convention, UNTOC and UNCAC into domestic law. Confirmed against Montserrat's Attorney General's Chambers, checked 2026-07-30.
Drugs Prevention of Misuse Act — A principal drug control instrument, carrying the 1988 Convention's trafficking and confiscation obligations into domestic law. Confirmed against Montserrat's Attorney General's Chambers, checked 2026-07-30.
Drug Trafficking Offences Act — A principal drug control instrument, carrying the 1988 Convention's trafficking and confiscation obligations into domestic law. Confirmed against Montserrat's Attorney General's Chambers, checked 2026-07-30.
Enforcement authorities
2 bodies are named in the record for Montserrat, each confirmed on Montserrat's own government domain. Reading this alongside the treaty position is the point: the conventions say what must be criminalised, and these are the institutions through which that reaches a consignment or a suspect.
| Body | Function | Confirmed on |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Montserrat Police Service | criminal investigation | gov.ms |
| Montserrat Customs & Revenue Service | customs and border control | mcrs.gov.ms |
Ratification sequence
A count of four tells you less than the sequence that produced it. Montserrat came to these instruments over 15 years, beginning with the 1988 Convention in 1991 and ending with the UNCAC in 2006. Measured against each instrument's own adoption, the shortest gap was the Firearms Protocol at 1 year, the longest the UNTOC at 6.
Montserrat became a party to the 1988 Convention in 1991, 3 years after it was adopted — faster than the median lag of 5 years across this dataset.
The intervals below are where the obligations were partial rather than complete. For the 11 years between 1991 and 2002, Montserrat was bound by the 1988 Convention but not yet by the Firearms Protocol, the UNTOC or the UNCAC. For the 4 years between 2002 and 2006, Montserrat was bound by the 1988 Convention and the Firearms Protocol but not yet by the UNTOC or the UNCAC. Conduct inside such a window is judged against the instruments then in force, not against the set as it stands today.
On coverage, Montserrat is one of 81 jurisdiction s here party to 4 of the four, against 81 party to all four. Within Latin America and the Caribbean the dataset holds 33 jurisdictions, of which 3 are currently under FATF increased monitoring.
Financial-crime monitoring
As of the FATF plenary statements of 2026-06-19, Montserrat is recorded as Not listed . Absence from both lists is not a clean bill of health: it means no strategic deficiency has been identified, which is not the same as none existing. What each status entails is set out on the FATF grey list tracker.
Questions about drug and firearms law in Montserrat
Which drug-control conventions has Montserrat ratified?
Montserrat is not a party in its own right. The ratifications of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland extend to it, which is why the dates on this page are that state's dates: 1988 Convention (28 Jun 1991), UNTOC (9 Feb 2006), UNCAC (9 Feb 2006), Firearms Protocol (6 May 2002).
Is Montserrat on the FATF grey list?
No. Montserrat appears on neither the increased-monitoring list nor the call-for-action list in the FATF statements of 19 June 2026.
What national drug legislation is on record for Montserrat?
Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2013, confirmed against the Organization of American States; Proceeds of Crime Act 2010, confirmed against Montserrat's Attorney General's Chambers; Drugs Prevention of Misuse Act, confirmed against Montserrat's Attorney General's Chambers; Drug Trafficking Offences Act, confirmed against Montserrat's Attorney General's Chambers.
Which register confirms the legislation on this page?
Each instrument names its own. For Montserrat that is the Organization of American States, Montserrat's Attorney General's Chambers. Following the link reaches the document itself; nothing here paraphrases an instrument it has not cited.
What is source tier C, and why is this record in it?
Tier C covers jurisdictions that are not treaty parties in their own right. Montserrat takes its obligations by extension from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is the accurate legal position and is frequently misreported as non-ratification.
Why does the ratification date matter?
The date is the point from which the obligations bind. Montserrat's earliest of these commitments dates from 1991, its most recent from 2006; the gap between them is a rough measure of how long the framework took to assemble.
Sources
- Ratification dates: United Nations Treaty Collection, depositary status tables (chapters VI-19, XVIII-12, XVIII-14, XVIII-12-c). Checked 2026-07-29.
- Listing status: FATF, Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring and High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action, 2026-06-19.
- Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2013: the Organization of American States, checked 2026-07-30.
- Proceeds of Crime Act 2010: Montserrat's Attorney General's Chambers, checked 2026-07-30.
- Drugs Prevention of Misuse Act: Montserrat's Attorney General's Chambers, checked 2026-07-30.
- Drug Trafficking Offences Act: Montserrat's Attorney General's Chambers, checked 2026-07-30.