Sir Michael Cameron St John Birt, KC (born 25 August 1948) was the 88th
Bailiff
A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...
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 ...
in 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, ...
.
Birt was educated in Jersey at
St. Michael's Preparatory School
St Michael's Preparatory School is the largest private preparatory school in Jersey, situated in the parish of St. Saviour. The school acts as a feeder to many British public schools in the United Kingdom.
The school celebrated its 60th anni ...
then at
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...
. He went on to read law at
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...
. He was called to the English Bar in 1970 and practised as a barrister at 2 Crown Office Row for five years. He returned to Jersey and qualified at the Jersey Bar in 1977.
He was sworn in as an advocate of the Royal Court on 3 October 1977. From 1976 to 1993 he was in private practice with the Jersey law firm Ogier & Le Cornu. In January 1994 he was appointed as HM Attorney General for Jersey. In February 2000, he became Deputy Bailiff.
In July 2009, he was appointed Bailiff, in succession to Sir
Philip Bailhache
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.
He served as Bailiff of Jersey from 1995 to 2009, before ent ...
.
A group of protesters demonstrated outside Birt's swearing-in ceremony in the
Royal Court of Jersey
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.
History
The Court has its ...
, angry about decisions not to bring more prosecutions following investigations into child abuse in Jersey.
As Bailiff of Jersey, Birt was an ex officio member of the
Jersey Court of Appeal
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 ...
. In December 2013, Sir Michael announced he would retire as Bailiff of Jersey in January 2015.
Honours
Birt was appointed a QC learned in the law of Jersey in 1995. He was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in the
2012 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours List 2012 was released on 16 June 2012 in the United Kingdom. on 11 June 2012 in Australia on 4 June 2012 in New Zealand,Official biography