For many years the Cayman Islands were governed by the British dependency of Jamaica, however, all that changed in 1962. Jamaica elected to become an independent country while the Cayman Islands elected to stay as a British Colony. The Cayman Islands are very politically sound in fact possibly more so than the United States.  The Constitution of the Caymans is pursuant to the British West Indies Act of 1962, which is a statute of the British government. Their law is founded on the English common law system. Acts of the British Parliament does not apply to the Cayman unless they state they do, however the British Parliament does have the right to legislate for the islands. When it comes to matters of the defense of the islands, preserving overall civil order, and external affairs, it is the responsibility of Great Britain. The Legislative Assembly has 12 democratically elected members, which legislates in combination with the Governor. The Governor is appointed by the Queen and the British government. Their executive Council is made up of 7 members in which 4 members are elected by the Legislative Assembly and the other 3 members are appointed by the Governor. The highest court in the Cayman Islands is the Privy Council, which is located in London. All decisions of this court are final and binding in all the Caymanian courts. Every decision made by any of the Caymanian courts is noted in the Cayman Islands Legal Records.