Register of Names
and Addresses (Jersey) Law 2012
A LAW to make provision for the
establishment of a Register of Names and Addresses of individuals in Jersey for
use by public authorities for specified purposes.
Commencement [see endnotes]
part 1
interpretation
1 Interpretation
(1) In this Law, unless the
context otherwise requires –
“adult” means a person who has attained the age
of 16 years;
“Court” means the Royal Court;
“Minister” means the Chief Minister;
“prescribe” means prescribe by Order;
“public administration and customer service” has the
meaning in Article 2(4);
“public authority” means any of the
following –
(a) a
Minister;
(b) a
parish;
“Register” means the Register of Names and Addresses
established and maintained under Part 2;
“registrable fact”, in relation to an individual, has
the meaning in Article 2(8).
(2) The States may by
Regulations amend the definition “public authority” in paragraph (1).
part 2
register of names and addresses
2 The
Register of Names and Addresses
(1) The Minister must
establish and maintain a register of individuals to be known as the
“Register of Names and Addresses”.
(2) The purposes for which
the Register is to be established and maintained are confined to the statutory
purposes.
(3) The statutory purposes
are –
(a) to
enable or facilitate public administration and customer service; and
(aa) the purposes
specified in Article 5A;
(b) such
other purposes as the States may by Regulations specify under Article 5(2).[1]
(4) In this Law
“public administration and customer service” means any of the following –
(a) the
provision of any service under any enactment to an individual by a public
authority;
(b) anything
done by a public authority to enable or facilitate compliance by an individual
of any duty under any enactment;
(c) anything
done by a public authority in consequence of a breach or alleged breach by an
individual of any duty under any enactment.
(5) The States may by
Regulations amend the definition of “public administration and customer
service” in paragraph (4).
(6) An entry on the Register
must be made in respect of every individual who is specified in Regulations
made under paragraph (10).
(7) An entry in respect of
an individual shall consist of the registrable facts in relation to that
individual.
(8) In this Law,
“registrable facts”, in relation to an individual,
means –
(a) the
individual’s name (including title) and residential address;
(b) the
individual’s date and place of birth;
(c) (if
the individual was not born in Jersey), the individual’s date of arrival
in Jersey;
(d) the
individual’s gender;
(e) the
individual’s social security number.
(9) The Minister may enter
on the Register registrable facts in relation to an individual that are held by
any department or administration of the States notwithstanding anything in any
enactment to the contrary.
(10) The States shall, by
Regulations, specify individuals, whether by category, class or description, in
respect of whom an entry must be made on the Register.
3 Verification
of, and changes to, the Register
(1) An individual may apply
to the Minister for a copy of the registrable facts recorded on the Register in
respect of –
(a) that
individual; and
(b) any
individual specified in Regulations made under paragraph (8) and in
accordance with those Regulations.
(2) Such application shall –
(a) be in
such form as the Minister may determine;
(b) be
accompanied by such fee as the Minister may prescribe; and
(c) comply
with any requirements specified in the form, including the provision of any
documents establishing the identity of the person making the application.
(3) Following an
application in accordance with paragraph (2) the Minister shall supply the
individual making the application with a copy of the registrable facts relating
to the individual in respect of whom the application was made.
(4) An individual
(“the notifying individual”) must notify the Minister forthwith of
any inaccuracy in the registrable facts relating to that individual, or an
individual in respect of whom that individual may make an application under
paragraph (1), of which the notifying individual has become aware and
shall supply the Minister with such information or document as the Minister may
require to correct the inaccuracy.
(5) The Minister may, at
any time, require an individual to provide the Minister with such documents and
information as the Minister may require for the purpose of verifying a
registrable fact relating to that person.
(6) The Minister shall
update the information recorded on the Register as soon as reasonably
practicable following –
(a) notification
of an inaccuracy under paragraph (4) or the provision of documents or
information under (5); or
(b) any
change in that information given to the Minister under Article 4 or under
any enactment.
(7) The rights of an
individual under this Article in respect of registrable facts are without
prejudice to any rights that individual may have in respect of that information
under the Data Protection (Jersey)
Law 2018.[2]
(8) The States may, by
Regulations, specify any individual, description or class of individual in
respect of whom any individual, description or class of individual may make an
application under paragraph (1).
4 Information
to be provided to the Minister
(1) This Article applies to
an individual who is ordinarily resident in Jersey for a continuous period of
3 months or more and who changes the name by which he or she is ordinarily
known (whether or not by deed poll).
(2) An adult to whom this
Article applies shall notify the Minister of the change of name within one
month of such change taking place.
(3) An adult who shares a
household with a child to whom this Article applies, such adult
being –
(a) the
parent of the child; or
(b) other
person with parental responsibility for the child,
shall notify the Minister of the change of the child’s name
within one month of the change taking place.
(4) This Article shall not
apply to any change of name if such change is registered under the Marriage and Civil Status
(Jersey) Law 2001 or the Gender Recognition (Jersey)
Law 2010.
(5) If there is more than
one adult who is subject to the duty under paragraph (3), compliance with
the duty by one adult shall discharge all other adults who are subject to that
duty.
(6) A notification under
paragraph (2) or (3) shall be in such form as the Minister may determine
and accompanied by any documents or other information that the Minister
requires to verify the identity of the individual who is the subject of the
notification.
(7) A person who fails to
comply with paragraph (2) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and liable
to a fine of level 2 on the standard scale.
(8) The Minister may by
Order modify the requirements of this Article in respect of any individual or
description of individual as may be prescribed.
5 Access
to the Register and use of information by public authorities
(1) A public authority may
use any registrable fact for the purpose of enabling or facilitating a public
administration and customer service.
(2) The States may by
Regulations make provision for any specified public authority to use
registrable facts for purposes specified in the Regulations.
(3) Regulations under
paragraph (2) may specify –
(a) all
or part of the Register;
(b) descriptions
of registrable facts,
that a specified public authority may use.
(4) The Minister may use
any registrable fact for providing statistical information to any Minister for
the purpose of –
(a) assisting
in the development and evaluation of public policy; and
(b) informing
the public about social and economic matters.
(5) For the purposes of
paragraph (4), “statistical information” does not include
personal information that is, information that relates to and identifies a
particular person whether the identity is specified in the information or can
be deduced from the information.
(6) A public authority must
not use registrable facts from the Register unless the Minister is satisfied
that the authority has adequate systems in place for securing the
confidentiality and integrity of those facts.
(7) No public authority may
use information on the Register for any purpose other than one authorized under
this Law or under any other enactment.
(8) In this Article
“use” includes accessing, obtaining, recording, holding, and
disclosing.
5A Minister
may supply relevant information to credit reference agencies[3]
(1) The
Minister may supply to a prescribed credit reference agency the following
registrable facts about an individual resident in Jersey –
(a) name;
(b) residential
address;
(c) date
of birth.
(2) The
only purposes for which the Minister may supply relevant information to a
prescribed credit reference agency are to enable –
(a) a
person to meet their obligations relating to the detection and prevention of
money laundering and terrorist financing under FSMA or the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey)
Law 1999, or under legislation in another jurisdiction that the Minister is
satisfied imposes equivalent obligations;
(b) vetting
of –
(i) an application
for credit, or
(ii) an
application that could result in the giving of credit, or the giving of any
guarantee, indemnity or assurance in relation to the giving of credit; and
(c) statistical
analysis of credit risk assessment in a case where no individual whose details
are included in the Register is referred to by name or necessary implication.
(3) A
person to whom relevant information is supplied under this Article must use the
information only for the specified purposes.
(4) The
Minister may prescribe a person as a credit reference agency if Conditions A
and B are satisfied.
(5) Condition A
is that the Minister is satisfied that the person is –
(a) authorised
under FSMA to carry on the regulated activity of providing credit references;
or
(b) authorised
to provide credit references in another jurisdiction, if the Minister is
satisfied that the jurisdiction has –
(i) legislation
equivalent to FSMA that regulates persons providing credit references, and
(ii) data
protection legislation equivalent to the Data Protection (Jersey)
Law 2018.
(6) Condition B
is that the Minister is satisfied that the person –
(a) has
adequate systems in place for securing the confidentiality and integrity of
information supplied under this Article; and
(b) will
use the relevant information only for the specified purposes.
(7) The
Minister may require a prescribed credit reference agency to pay a fee
prescribed for the supply of relevant information under this Article.
(8) The
Minister must not supply information under this Article in relation to a person
who has not attained full age.
(9) In
this Article –
“application for credit” includes an application by an
individual to enter into, refinance or reschedule a credit agreement under
which credit is provided to the individual by a creditor;
“credit” includes –
(a) a
cash loan;
(b) a
loan secured against immovable property, whether by hypothecation or by
mortgage or in any other manner;
(c) financial
accommodation provided in the letting of goods under a hire-purchase agreement,
or in the selling of goods under a conditional sale agreement, within the
meaning of the Supply of Goods and Services
(Jersey) Law 2009; and
(d) any
other form of financial accommodation;
“FSMA” means the Financial Services and Markets
Act 2000 of the United Kingdom, as amended, revised or re-enacted from
time to time;
“prescribed credit reference agency” means a person
prescribed by the Minister under paragraph (4);
“relevant information” means the registrable facts
listed in paragraph (1);
“specified purposes” means the purposes specified in
paragraph (2);
“use”, in relation to information, includes accessing,
obtaining, recording, holding and disclosing the information.
6 Unauthorized
disclosure of information
(1) A person is guilty of
an offence if, without lawful authority –
(a) he or
she provides any person with information that he or she is required to keep
confidential; or
(b) he or
she otherwise makes a disclosure of any such information.
(2) For the purposes of
this Article, a person is required to keep information confidential if it is
information that is or has become available to that person by reason of holding
an office or employment the duties of which relate, in whole or in part,
to –
(a) the
establishment or maintenance of the Register; or
(b) the
use of registrable facts under Article 5.
(3) For the purposes of
this Article, information is provided or otherwise disclosed with lawful
authority if such provision or disclosure –
(a) is
authorized under this Law or under another enactment;
(b) is in
pursuance of an order or direction of the Court;
(c) is
for the purposes of the performance of the duties of an office or employment
described in paragraph (2).
(4) It is a defence for a
person charged with an offence under this Article to show that, at the time of
the alleged offence, that person believed, on reasonable grounds, that he or
she had lawful authority to provide the information or to make the disclosure
in question.
(5) A person guilty of an
offence under this Article shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of
5 years and a fine.
part 3
Supervision of operation of law
7 Appointment
of Commissioner
(1) The Minister must
appoint a Commissioner to be known as the Register of Names and Addresses
Commissioner.
(2) It shall be the
function of the Commissioner to keep under review –
(a) the
arrangements for the time being maintained by the Minister for the purposes of
his or her functions under this Law or any Regulations made under this Law; and
(b) the
arrangements made by public authorities for using registrable facts.
(3) Where the Commissioner
reviews any arrangements under paragraph (2) his or her review must
include, in particular, a review of the extent to which the arrangements make
appropriate provision –
(a) for
securing the confidentiality and integrity of information recorded on the
Register;
(b) for
dealing with complaints made by individuals about use of information recorded
on the Register.
(4) It shall be the duty of
every public authority to provide the Commissioner with all such information
(including information on the Register) as he or she may require for the
purpose of carrying out his or her functions under this Law.
(5) The Commissioner is to
hold office in accordance with the terms of his or her appointment and shall be
paid out of the annual income of the States a salary and other remuneration in
accordance with the terms of his or her appointment.
(6) As soon as practicable
after the end of each calendar year, the Commissioner must make a report to the
Minister about the carrying out of the Commissioner’s functions.
(7) The Commissioner may
also, at any other time, make such report to the Minister on any matter relating
to the carrying out of those functions as the Commissioner thinks fit.
(8) The Minister must lay
before the States a copy of every report made to him or her under this Article
not more than one month after receiving it.
(9) The
Commissioner’s powers under this Law are without prejudice to the powers
of the Data Protection Authority under the Data Protection Authority
(Jersey) Law 2018.[4]
part 4
miscellaneous and closing
8 Regulations
and Orders
(1) Any Regulations or
Order made under this Law may contain such transitional, consequential,
incidental or supplementary provisions as appear to the States or the Minister,
as the case requires, to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the
Regulations or Order.
(2) The States may, by
Regulations, make such transitional or consequential provision in connection
with the coming into force of Article 5A (inserted by the Register of
Names and Addresses (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 2023) as appears to the States to
be necessary or expedient.[5]
9 Citation
This Law may be cited as the Register of Names and Addresses
(Jersey) Law 2012.