Gibraltar Constitution Order 1969

The Gibraltarian members of the Constitutional Conference were: Joshua Hassan, Aurelio Montegriffo and Abraham Serfaty for the Association for the Advancement of Civil Rights; Robert Peliza, Maurice Xiberras and legal advisor Sir Frederick Bennet for the Integration With Britain Party; and Peter Isola.

Since 1954, the Government of Spain under the leadership of Francisco Franco had been applying increasingly restrictive measures in its relationships with Gibraltar.

On 24 July 1968, it complained to the UN Secretary General claiming that the constitutional talks were a "further obstacle to the solution of Gibraltar's future", a statement that was rejected by the Government of the United Kingdom.

[2] On 20 May 1968[3] the Gibraltar–Spain border was closed by the Spanish Guardia Civil and chaos ensued as controls were implemented on travellers trying to use the ferry service at the port of Algeciras.

[4] The closing of the border, together with various other restrictions, was a severe shock for the Gibraltarians, who became aware that across the frontier there was a hostile and threatening foreign power.