The Courts of Jersey are responsible for the

administration of justice The administration of justice is the process by which the legal system of a government is executed. The presumed goal of such an administration is to provide justice for all those accessing the legal system. The phrase is also commonly used to d ...

in the

Bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on the ...

of Jersey, one of the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey ...

. They apply the law of the Island, which is a mixture of customary law and legislation passed by the legislature, the States Assembly. The principal court is the Royal Court, which has been in existence since the 13th century, and exercises both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Additional courts, such as the Magistrate's Court, which deals with minor criminal matters, and the Court of Appeal, which hears appeals from the Royal Court, have been added to the Island's legal system more recently. There are also a number of specialist tribunals.

Appeal courts

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council court room 3 in United Kingdom Supreme Court

Prior to 1949 there was no

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

in Jersey (or

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands, ...

). Appeals could be heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, but this was only possible if special leave was given and was not by right. It was felt that, particularly in criminal cases, this was not satisfactory. Therefore, in 1949 an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' K ...

was made by King George VI creating the Channel Islands Court of Appeal, to deal with appeals from both Jersey and Guernsey. However it was soon realised that a joint court would not work and the Channel Islands Court of Appeal never sat. It was ultimately replaced by separate Courts of Appeal in each of the two

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on the ...

The Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal of Jersey was finally created in 1961 and sits about six times each year. The judges of the Court of Appeal comprise the Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff, and a number of King's Counsel from the United Kingdom, the

or the Isle of Man. Currently, there are 11 judges of the Court of Appeal, including the Bailiff of

Youth Appeal Court

The Youth Appeal Court is made up of the Bailiff and three members of the Youth Court Panel.

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

Further appeals can be made to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, but only with special leave.

Royal Court

Originating in the 13th century when the King declared that Jersey should continue to follow Norman law, the Royal Court is the principal and oldest court in Jersey. The President of the Court is the Bailiff and the Court is otherwise composed of the island's

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. The Court has jurisdiction over both civil and criminal matters. The Royal Court also conducts the ''Visites Royales'' - yearly inspections of each of the parishes.

Lower courts

The Magistrate's and Petty Debts Courts were established by legislation in 1853 to deal with minor

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

and civil cases instead of the Royal Court (although their jurisdiction is generally concurrent with that of the Royal Court, rather than exclusive). They are both presided over by the Magistrate, a position which was created as a distinct post in 1864. The Magistrate is referred to in the Jersey French of the legislation as the ''Juge d’Instruction'', although his role is not the same as the position with the same title in inquisitorial systems.

Magistrate's Court

Originally established in 1853 as the Police Court, and renamed the Magistrate's Court in 1996. The Magistrate's Court can try any

criminal offence In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

if the Magistrate considers that the appropriate sentence is not more than one year in prison or a fine of £10,000. If the Magistrate considers that a heavier sentence might be appropriate, then the case will be committed to the Royal Court for trial. Similarly if, having tried the case, the Magistrate subsequently decides that their sentencing powers are insufficient, they may refer the case to the Royal Court for sentencing.

Petty Debts Court

The Petty Debts Court deals with civil cases where the value of the claim is no more than £10,000, and also with

landlord and tenant A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a ...

disputes.

Youth Court

The Youth Court was created in 1994 and is made up of the Magistrate and two members of the Youth Court Panel (which is appointed by the Superior Number of the Royal Court). It sits in private (although the press may be present) and deals with cases where the defendant is aged under 18, unless the likely sentence means that the case needs to be sent to the Royal Court.

Parish Hall Enquiry

The Parish Hall Enquiry is an informal way of dealing with minor criminal behaviour, particularly by young people, which has been in use in Jersey for over 800 years. The Enquiry is not actually a court hearing. It is an opportunity for the Centenier (the head of the Honorary Police for the parish) to review the evidence and decide whether it is in the public interest for the case to be tried in the Magistrate's Court. In doing so the Centenier will discuss the evidence with the accused person and, if the offence is minor, possibly agree a non-statutory sanction which will avoid the need for the case to go to court. Attendance at the Enquiry is voluntary, the Centenier does not make a finding of guilt (a sanction is only imposed if the accused agrees, otherwise the case is sent on to the Magistrate's Court) and at any time the accused may elect to have the case referred to the Magistrate. Sanctions which can be imposed include: * no further action/'words of advice' * a written caution * a fine of up to £100 for some offences, e.g. minor motoring offences * deferral of a sanction, dependent on good behaviour * voluntary supervision by the

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

service These sanctions are not

conviction In law, a conviction is the verdict reached by a court of law finding a defendant guilty of a crime. The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal (that is, "not guilty"). In Scotland, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which is co ...

s but a record is kept and they may be referred to in the event of the accused coming into contact with the criminal justice system on a subsequent occasion. The Parish Hall Enquiry system has been found to "deal successfully and appropriately with a wide range of offending", to have a low rate of recidivism, and a high level of satisfaction amongst victims.

Inquests

In the case of a sudden or unexpected death in the Island, an inquest will need to be held to determine the cause of death. The

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

is the

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jur ...

(although in recent years this function has been delegated to the Deputy Viscount) and may sit with a jury, although this is unusual. Hearings take place in public.

Tribunals

In addition to the courts, there are a number of Tribunals, including: * Jersey Employment Tribunal * Commissioners of Appeal for Tax * States of Jersey Complaints Board * Health and Safety Appeal Tribunal * Data Protection Tribunal * Rent Control Tribunal * Rate Appeal Board * Social Security Tribunal * Mental Health Review Tribunal

Judgments and law reports

Judgments of the Royal Court, Court of Appeal and the Employment Tribunal are published online by the Jersey Legal Information Board, as part of the Free Access to Law Movement. Since 1985, selected judgments containing points of legal principle are formally published in the ''Jersey Law Reports''. Selected judgments between 1950 and 1984 were published in 11 volumes by the Royal Court in the ''Jersey Judgments'' series of law reports.

References

External links

{{Judiciaries of Europe Judiciary of Jersey Jersey law Jersey Organisations based in Jersey