Politics 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, and to provide a mechanism for dispute resolution. The Bailiff of Jersey 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. 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. [1] In addition to the judge, the Royal Court includes a number of volunteer Jurats. [2] 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. [3] All judges in Jersey are bound by a code of conduct, introduced in 2007, [4] which requires them to "uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary and perform their duties with competence, diligence and dedication". [4] : para. 1
The Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff are appointed by the Queen, on the advice of the UK Secretary of State for Justice. 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 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), 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 of the Royal Court. The Lieutenant Governor then sends a single name to the Secretary of State for Justice. [5] : pp.5–15 This process is not used for appointing the Bailiff because the Deputy Bailiff is seen to be training for the office of Bailiff. [5] : p.14 The Bailiff, Deputy Bailiff and members of the Jersey Court of Appeal 'hold office during good behaviour'. [6] The Secretary of State for Justice can dismiss a Jersey judge without consulting the States of Jersey, unlike senior judges in England and Wales whose dismissal requires the consent of both Houses of Parliament. [7] [8] In 1992, when Deputy Bailiff Vernon Tomes was dismissed by the Home Secretary (who at the time was responsible for Crown Dependencies) because he was slow to present written judgments. [9] [10]
Commissioners of the Royal Court are part-time judges, appointed by the Bailiff from either Commonwealth judges or senior experienced lawyers from the United Kingdom and Islands, either for defined periods of time or for specific cases. [2] : Part II
Jurats are unpaid lay people, aged 40 or more, elected through secret ballot by an electoral college of the Bailiff, the existing Jurats, the Connétables, the elected Members of the States, and advocates and solicitors of the Royal Court. [2] : Article 4 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. [2] : Article 9
The Bailiff also appoints, on the advice of a panel, [5] : pp.17–18 a full-time salaried Magistrate and Assistant Magistrate and part-time locum Relief Magistrates. [11] The Magistrates can only be dismissed by an Order of Her Majesty in Council. [11] : Article 2(3) In June 2008, a Magistrate-Designate, Ian Christmas, did not take up his post because he was being investigated for alleged fraud, [12] [13] [14] which resulted in a conviction and a fifteen-month prison term. [15] Subsequently, the Bailiff's Office asked the Ministry of Justice to arrange a disciplinary investigation because Ian Christmas could not be removed from office by the Bailiff. [16] [17]
The courts of Jersey are required by the European Convention on Human Rights to be independent and impartial. [18] In 2000, the European Court of Human Rights 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 when legislation was being debated and subsequently presided in the Royal Court of Guernsey in a case where that legislation was relevant. [19] 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 cases concerned with legislation that was debated when he presided in the States, but there were suggestions that reform might be needed. [5] : pp.46–47
During 2009–2010, the States of Jersey commissioned an inquiry, chaired by Lord Carswell, into the roles of Jersey's Crown Officers i.e. the Bailiff, Deputy Bailiff, Attorney General and Solicitor General. [20] The subsequent report recommended reforms to the States of Jersey, including suggesting that the Bailiff should no longer be the President of the States, [20] : para. 5.16 something the States did not endorse. [21]
In recent years, a former States member, Stuart Syvret, 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's failure to ensure that Jersey authorities protected child abuse victims. [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] In March 2009, the Administrative Court refused permission for the case to proceed to a full hearing. [30] [31] [32] 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. [33] [34] [35] 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. [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]
The Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown dependency, unitary state and parliamentary representative democracy and constitutional monarchy. The head of the civil administration and judiciary is the Bailiff Timothy Le Cocq, while the Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham is the head of government. The current monarch and head of state is King Charles III.
The Bailiff is the chief justice in each of the Channel Island bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey, also serving as president of the legislature and having ceremonial and executive functions. Each bailiwick has possessed its own bailiff since the islands were divided into two jurisdictions in the 13th century. The bailiffs and deputy bailiffs are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Secretary of State for Justice and may hold office until retirement age.
The title Bailiff of Guernsey has been used since at least the 13th century and indicated the leading citizen of Guernsey.
The Bailiff of Jersey is the civic head of the Bailiwick of Jersey. In this role, he is not the head of government nor the head of state, but the chief justice of Jersey and presiding officer of Jersey's parliament, the States Assembly. The Bailiff is also the President of the Royal Court. It is similar in role to the Bailiff of Guernsey.
Although the politics of Jersey has been largely based on independent parliamentary representatives, from time to time the island has had political parties. There are currently 3 active political parties in the island.
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 in both civil and criminal matters.
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.
Sir Philip Martin Bailhache KC is a Jersey politician and lawyer who has served as a Deputy for St Clement since 2022 and the leader of the Jersey Liberal Conservatives party.
Sir Peter Leslie Crill was Bailiff of Jersey from 1986 to 1991.
The States Assembly is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes.
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 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.
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.
The law of Jersey has been influenced by several different legal traditions, in particular Norman customary law, English common law and modern French civil law. The Bailiwick of Jersey is a separate jurisdiction from that of the United Kingdom, and is also distinct from that of the other Channel Islands such as Guernsey, although they do share some historical developments. Jersey's legal system is 'mixed' or 'pluralistic', and sources of law are in French and English languages, although since the 1950s the main working language of the legal system is English.
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 in on Haut de la Garenne, then being used as a youth hostel.
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 States Assembly.
The Courts of Guernsey are responsible for the administration of justice in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. They apply the law of the Island, which is a mixture of customary law dating back as far as the 10th century and legislation passed by the legislature, the States of Deliberation.
The Bailiwick of 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".
The Royal Court is the principal and oldest court in Jersey, and exercises both criminal and civil jurisdiction. It can sit in a number of configurations, depending on the type of case and the powers to be exercised.
The Corn Riots, also known as the Jersey Revolution, was a revolt which took place in Jersey on 28 September 1769. In an example of direct action against government oppression, under the government of Lieutenant Bailiff Charles Lemprière, hundreds of Jerseymen marched from the north of the island to the south and occupied the Royal Court. The revolt is a significant point in Jersey political history, as the powers of legislation were removed from the Royal Court and placed in the States Assembly.
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