The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel,off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies:the Bailiwick of Jersey,which is the largest of the islands;and the Bailiwick of Guernsey,consisting of Guernsey,Alderney,Sark,Herm and some smaller islands. They are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy and,although they are not part of the United Kingdom,the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands. The Crown dependencies are not members of the Commonwealth of Nations,nor have they ever been in the European Union. They have a total population of about 170,499,and the bailiwicks' capitals,Saint Helier and Saint Peter Port,have populations of 33,500 and 18,207,respectively.
ITV Channel Television,previously Channel Television,is a British television station which has served as the ITV contractor for the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey and broadcasts regional programme for insertion into the network ITV schedule. Until November 2011,Channel Television was one of four ITV companies independent from ITV plc alongside the two STV regions in Scotland and UTV in Northern Ireland. The station has been owned by ITV plc since 2012 and the licence was transferred to ITV Broadcasting Limited in March 2017.
The Jersey Battle of Flowers is an annual carnival held in the Channel Island of Jersey on the second Thursday of August. The festival consists of music,funfairs,dancers,majorettes and a parade of flower floats alongside various street entertainers. It was inaugurated in 1902 to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The largest attendance to date is thought to be that of 1969 when 60,000 people were present. Current spectator numbers are around 20,000.
The Jersey Democratic Alliance was a political party in Jersey. JDA candidates contested general elections in 2005 and 2008 but announced in August 2011 that it would not be fielding candidates in the October 2011 elections.
The States of Jersey Police or States Police are a paid police force in the Bailiwick of Jersey. Alongside the unpaid Honorary Police,the States Police make up the 13 official police forces in the island,though the States Police are the only force to be a paid and to operate island-wide. The States Police was established in its current form by the Police Force (Jersey) Law,1974 and consists of around 240 officers.
Sir Philip Martin Bailhache is a former Jersey politician and lawyer. He served as Bailiff of Jersey from 1995 to 2009,before entering the States Assembly in 2011 as a Senator,serving as Jersey’s first Minister for External Relations from 2013 until he stood down from the States Assembly in 2018. He previously served as Deputy for Grouville from 1972 until 1975,before serving successively as Solicitor General,Attorney General and Deputy Bailiff between 1975 and 1995.
The Centre Party was a registered political party in Jersey between 2005 and 2007.
Stuart Syvret is a former Jersey politician. He held elected office as a member of the States of Jersey assembly from 1990 to 2010. From 1999 to 2007,Svyret had executive responsibilities first as President of the Health and Social Services Committee and,after the 2005 constitutional reforms,as Minister for Health and Social Services in the Council of Ministers. He was dismissed from ministerial office in September 2007 and returned to the backbenches until he was disqualified from membership of the States in April 2010 due to his absence from the island. He has been involved in a series of legal proceedings,as a defendant in a criminal prosecution in Jersey and as a claimant in judicial review and civil claims in Jersey and London.
Paul Vincent Le Claire is a Jersey politician who was a member of the States of Jersey from 1999 to 2011. He represented the Saint Helier District No.1 constituency and between 1999 and 2005 had an island-wide mandate as a senator.
Alan Simon Crowcroft is a Jersey politician,Connétable of St Helier,and former teacher. He has been an elected member of the States of Jersey since 1996.
Geoff Southern is a Jersey politician,and former teacher. He has been a deputy in the States of Jersey since winning a by-election,on 15 February 2002,and has chaired two scrutiny panels.
Same-sex marriage in Jersey has been legal since 1 July 2018. The States of Jersey passed a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry on 1 February 2018. Royal assent was granted on 23 May 2018,and the law took effect on 1 July.
Ian Joseph Gorst is an elected member of the States Assembly since 5 December 2005 and is the Minister for External Relations. He previously served as the Chief Minister of Jersey for two terms,from 18 November 2011 until 7 June 2018. He previously worked as an accountant.
An investigation into historic child abuse in Jersey started in the spring of 2007. Before that,social worker Simon Bellwood had made a complaint about a "'Dickensian' system" where children as young as 11 were routinely locked up for 24 hours or more in solitary confinement in a secure unit where he worked. The wider investigation into child abuse over several decades became public in November that year. It received international attention when police moved into Haut de la Garenne,then being used as a youth hostel.
The Council of Ministers is the collective decision-making body of the Government of Jersey,formed by the Ministers of the States of Jersey and the Chief Minister. The council co-ordinates policies and administration,especially policy affecting two or more ministers,prioritises executive and legislative proposals,and presents a "Strategic Plan for Jersey" for approval by the States Assembly.
Alphonse Le Gastelois was an agricultural worker and fisherman from Jersey who lived in self-imposed exile on the Écréhous reef for 14 years after being wrongly accused of a string of sexual assaults on children. Fearing for his life,Le Gastelois felt compelled to leave Jersey to live on the small island six miles to the north east of Jersey,having been treated as a criminal and ostracised by many who lived on Jersey. Ten years later,on 10 July 1971,the real criminal,Edward Paisnel,nicknamed the Beast of Jersey,was caught and on 29 November 1971,was sentenced to jail for 13 attacks;this ended an 11-year reign of terror.
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,and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The Bailiff of Jersey is the President of the Royal Court. Individual trials are heard by the Bailiff,the Deputy Bailiff or a Commissioner. The Master of the Royal Court deals with some preliminary matters in civil cases. The Court is supported by the Judicial Greffier 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,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".
Reform Jersey is a social-democratic political party in Jersey,a British Crown Dependency in the Channel Islands.
Jersey has an unwritten constitution arising from the Treaty of Paris (1259). When Henry III and the King of France came to terms over the Duchy of Normandy,the Norman mainland the suzerainty of the King of France. The Channel Islands however remained loyal to the British crown due to the loyalties of its Seigneurs. But they were never absorbed into the Kingdom of England by any Act of Union and exist as "peculiars of the Crown".
