The Minquiers and Ecréhous are two groups of islands and rocks forming part of 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 th ...
of
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
,
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 are respectively the most southerly and northerly land territories of the Bailiwick. The islands have no permanent inhabitants.
*The
Minquiers
The Minquiers (''Les Minquiers''; in Jèrriais: ''Les Mîntchièrs'' ; known as "the Minkies" in local English) are a group of islands and rocks, about south of Jersey. They form part of the Bailiwick of Jersey.
They are administratively part of ...
(''Les Minquiers'') are situated 9 miles south of Jersey, and are administratively part of the Parish of
Grouville
Grouville is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. The parish is around east of St Helier. The parish covers a surface area of 4,354 vergées (7.8 km²). The parish includes the south-east portion of the main island o ...
.
*The
Écréhous
The Écréhous (or in Jèrriais: ''Êcrého'') are a group of islands and rocks situated six miles (9.6 km) north-east of Jersey, and eight miles (12.8 km) from France. They form part of the Bailiwick of Jersey and are administratively ...
(''Les Écréhous'') are situated 6 miles north-east of Jersey (8 miles from France), and are administratively part of the Parish of
St. Martin.
History
In 1950, Britain and France
went to the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
(ICJ) for friendly discussions
cutation needed to decide to which country the Minquiers and Ecréhous belonged.
The French fished in the waters, but Jersey exercised various administrative rights. Certain maps showed the Ecréhous islands as not being part of Jersey.
The ICJ considered the historical evidence, and in its Judgment of 17 November 1953 awarded the islands to Jersey.
References
*Files on the ICJ case can be found in the
National Archives, mostly in the FO 371 sequence.
*The British/French dispute over the islands is a plot element in
Nancy Mitford
Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London s ...
's novel ''
Don't Tell Alfred
''Don't Tell Alfred'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1960 by Hamish Hamilton. It is the third in a trilogy centred on an upper-class English family, and takes place twenty years after the events of ''The Pursuit of Love'' and ''Lo ...
''.
* ''Histoire des Minquiers et des Ecréhous''.
Robert Sinsoilliez
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
. Editions l'Ancre de Marine.
Law School Article by William Heflin that discuss legal case in part
Bailiwick of Jersey
Geography of the Channel Islands
Protected areas of Jersey
{{Jersey-geo-stub