
Connétables or constables (
Jèrriais
( ; also known as the Jersey language, Jersey French and Jersey Norman French in English) is a Romance languages, Romance language and the traditional language of the Jersey people. It is a form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, an isla ...
: ) are the civic heads of the twelve
parishes of Jersey
The parishes of Jersey (Jèrriais, Jerriais: ) are the civil and religious Administrative division, administrative districts of Jersey in the Channel Islands. There are twelve in total; all have access to the sea and share a name with their anc ...
and ten
parishes of Guernsey
The Bailiwick of Guernsey includes the island of Guernsey and other islands such as Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, and Lihou. Each parish was established, probably in the 11th century, as a religious area, each having its parish church ...
. The is grounded in
Norman customary law.
The structure, powers and responsibilities of the role differ between the islands, reflecting their different political histories.
Jersey
Each of the 12
parishes
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
elects a Connétable.
In the parish, the Connétable presides over the Parish Assembly (''l'assemblée paroissiale''), which sets the rates (land tax), elects various officers, votes on applications for liquor licenses, names roads, and authorises contracts to be entered into by the parish.
The Connétable is also head of the parish's honorary police force.
Each Connétable is, by reason of that office, a member of the
States Assembly
The States Assembly (; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes.
The origins of the legislature of Jersey lie in the system of self-government according ...
.
In Jersey, each
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
elects a at general elections to run the parish and also represent the parish in the legislature, the
States Assembly
The States Assembly (; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes.
The origins of the legislature of Jersey lie in the system of self-government according ...
.
At parish-level, the constable presides over the
Roads Committee, the Conseil Paroissial (except St. Helier) and
parish assemblies. The twelve constables also collectively sit as the Comité des Connétables.
The constable is the titular head of the Honorary Police. With the
Roads Inspectors, Roads Committee and other officers, the constable of each parish also carries out the ''
visites du branchage'' twice a year.
History
The origins of the are believed to be military and the position is recorded as early as 1462. The office is unique to the island, being no parallel office in England or mainland Normandy, though
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.
His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
believed the office to of English origin, perhaps a version of the English
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
.
Guernsey
In
Guernsey
Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
, each
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
elects two constables, the senior constable and the junior constable. Persons elected generally serve a year as junior and then senior constable. The senior constable presides over the Douzaine that runs the parish. The constables are responsible for enforcing the decisions of the parish including the ''branchage'' (summer hedge-cutting).
Sark
In
Sark
Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...
, the connétable (or constable) is the senior of two police officers and police administrator and the
vingtenier is the junior police officer.
See also
*
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connetable
Parishes of Jersey
Law enforcement in the Channel Islands
Jersey
Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
Parochial politics of Jersey
Law of Jersey
Constables of Jersey
Law of Guernsey