Judiciary Of Jersey
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The judiciary of Jersey is a branch of the government of Jersey that interprets and applies the laws of Jersey, to ensure
equal justice under law Equal justice under law is a phrase engraved on the West Pediment, above the front entrance of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington D.C. It is also a societal ideal that has influenced the American legal system. The phrase w ...
, and to provide a mechanism for
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. The
Bailiff of Jersey The Bailiff of Jersey () has several roles: * Chief judge * President of the States of Jersey, States Assembly, carrying out functions of a presiding officer * Civic head of the Bailiwick of Jersey * Guardian of the constitution * President of t ...
is the President of the Royal Court (and also of the Court of Appeal). Individual trials are heard by the Bailiff, the Deputy Bailiff (also a full-time role) or a
Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...
. The
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of the Royal Court deals with some preliminary matters in civil cases. The Court is supported by the Judicial
Greffier In some countries using (or formerly using) French as the language of the legal system, a greffier is the clerk to a legislature or to a court. The word greffe refers to the records kept by the greffier or to the department of government under th ...
who acts as the registrar. In addition to the judge, the Royal Court includes a number of volunteer Jurats. The Jurats decide issues of fact in criminal and civil trials (except criminal assizes, when a jury is present), hand down sentences in criminal trials and award damages in civil trials. All judges in Jersey are bound by a code of conduct, introduced in 2007, which requires them to "uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary and perform their duties with competence, diligence and dedication".


Appointment and removal


Crown Officers

The Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff are appointed by the
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
, on the advice of the UK
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. Vacancies for the Deputy Bailiff, Attorney General and Solicitor General are usually advertised and a shortlist of candidates is prepared by a selection panel comprising the Bailiff, the senior
Jurat The ''jurats'' () are lay people in Guernsey and Jersey who act as judges of fact rather than law, though they preside over land conveyances and liquor licensing. In Alderney, however, the jurats are judges of both fact and law (assisted by thei ...
and the chairperson of the Jersey Appointments Commission. The selection panel interviews the candidates after consulting the Jurats, the States Consultative Panel (which includes the
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
), some elected States members, senior lawyers (the Bâtonnier, the President of the Law Society, the former President of the Law Society of Jersey and the President of the Chambre des Ecrivains), the other Crown Officers and the local
Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...
of the
Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...
. The Lieutenant Governor then sends a single name to the Secretary of State for Justice. This process is not used for appointing the Bailiff because the Deputy Bailiff is seen to be training for the office of Bailiff. The Bailiff, Deputy Bailiff and members of the Jersey Court of Appeal 'hold office during good behaviour'. The Secretary of State for Justice can dismiss a Jersey judge without consulting the
States of Jersey The States Assembly (; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable (Jersey and Guernsey), Connétable of each of the Parishes of Jersey, twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of ...
, unlike senior judges in England and Wales whose dismissal requires the consent of both Houses of Parliament. In 1992, when Deputy Bailiff
Vernon Tomes Vernon Amy Tomes (22 February 1932 – 1999) was Deputy Bailiff of Jersey, Bailiff of Jersey in the Channel Islands from 1986 to 1992. Early life Tomes was born in Saint John, Jersey, St John, Jersey the son of Wilfred James Tomes, a former Con ...
was dismissed by the
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(who at the time was responsible for
Crown Dependencies The Crown Dependencies are three dependent territory, offshore island territories in the British Islands that are self-governing possessions of the The Crown, British Crown: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, both lo ...
) because he was slow to present written judgments.


Commissioners

Commissioners of the Royal Court are part-time judges, appointed by the Bailiff from either
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judges or senior experienced lawyers from the United Kingdom and Islands, either for defined periods of time or for specific cases.


Jurats

Jurat The ''jurats'' () are lay people in Guernsey and Jersey who act as judges of fact rather than law, though they preside over land conveyances and liquor licensing. In Alderney, however, the jurats are judges of both fact and law (assisted by thei ...
s are unpaid lay people, aged 40 or more, elected through secret ballot by an
electoral college An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...
of the Bailiff, the existing Jurats, the Connétables, the elected Members of the States, and advocates and solicitors of the Royal Court. Jurats hold office until the age of 72. The Court can call for the resignation of any Jurat who "is permanently unable to carry out the duties of the office", and if the Jurat refuses to resign, the Bailiff and five or more Jurats of the Royal Court can request an ''Order of Her Majesty in Council'' to enforce resignation.


Magistrates

The Bailiff also appoints, on the advice of a panel, a full-time salaried
Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...
and Assistant Magistrate and part-time locum Relief Magistrates. The Magistrates can only be dismissed by an ''Order of Her Majesty in Council''. In June 2008, a Magistrate-Designate, Ian Christmas, did not take up his post because he was being investigated for alleged fraud, which resulted in a conviction and a fifteen-month prison term. Subsequently, the Bailiff's Office asked the
Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
to arrange a disciplinary investigation because Ian Christmas could not be removed from office by the Bailiff.


Judicial independence


Dual role of the Bailiff

The courts of Jersey are required by the
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to be ''independent and impartial''. In 2000, the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
ruled that there was a breach of the Convention in neighbouring Guernsey where the Bailiff or Deputy Bailiff sat as President of the
States of Guernsey The States of Guernsey (), officially the States of Deliberation and sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the ...
when legislation was being debated and subsequently presided in the Royal Court of Guernsey in a case where that legislation was relevant. Although there was no suggestion that the Bailiff was ''subjectively biased'', the ''mere fact'' that this happened could cast doubt on the Bailiff's impartiality. A Bailiff or Deputy Bailiff in Jersey could avoid such a situation by not sitting in
Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...
cases concerned with legislation that was debated when he presided in the States, but there were suggestions that reform might be needed.


Carswell report

During 2009–2010, the
States of Jersey The States Assembly (; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable (Jersey and Guernsey), Connétable of each of the Parishes of Jersey, twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of ...
commissioned an inquiry, chaired by
Lord Carswell Robert Douglas Carswell, Baron Carswell, , (28 June 1934 – 4 May 2023) was a British barrister and judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. Early life and education The son of Alan Carswel ...
, into the roles of Jersey's Crown Officers i.e. the Bailiff, Deputy Bailiff, Attorney General and Solicitor General. The subsequent report recommended reforms to the States of Jersey, including suggesting that the Bailiff should no longer be the President of the States, something the States did not endorse.


Criticism

In recent years, a former States member,
Stuart Syvret Stuart Syvret is a former Jersey politician. He held elected office as a member of the States Assembly from 1990 to 2010. From 1999 to 2007, Svyret had executive responsibilities first as president of the Health and Social Services Committee an ...
, has argued that the Jersey judiciary do not appear impartial and independent. In July 2008, Syvret and UK Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming sought a judicial review of what they saw as
Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...
's failure to ensure that Jersey authorities protected child abuse victims. In March 2009, the
Administrative Court An administrative court is a type of specialized court on administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are usually co ...
refused permission for the case to proceed to a full hearing. In 2010, Syvret commenced an unsuccessful civil action in the Royal Court against the Chief Minister, the States Employment Board and the Attorney General of Jersey. His arguments relating to lack of independence and impartiality because judges are appointed by the Bailiff and judges have attend social events with the Bailiff, were rejected by the Royal Court and Court of Appeal in Jersey several times between 2009 and 2011.


See also

* List of members of the judiciary of Jersey *
Courts of Jersey The Courts of Jersey are responsible for the administration of justice in the Bailiwick of Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. They apply the law of the Island, which is a mixture of customary law and legislation passed by the legislature, the S ...
* Law of Jersey


References

{{Judiciaries of Europe Political organisations based in Jersey Law of Jersey