Political Parties
(Registration) (Jersey) Law 2008
A LAW to provide for the registration
of political parties who wish to endorse candidates for election as a Deputy or
Connétable, and for connected purposes[1]
Commencement [see endnotes]
1 Interpretation
(1) In this Law, unless the
context otherwise requires –
“2002 Law” means the Elections (Jersey)
Law 2002;
“Court” means the Royal Court;
“Greffier” means the Judicial Greffier;
“officeholder” means, in relation to a party, one of the
office holders mentioned in Article 2(4);
“register” means the register maintained under Article 6;
“registered” means for the time being entered in the
register;
“working day” means any day other than Christmas Day,
Good Friday, a Sunday or a day observed as a bank
holiday pursuant to the Public Holidays and Bank
Holidays (Jersey) Law 1951.[2]
(2) In this
Law, a reference to a fee payable for any application or other matter is a
reference to the stamp duty required to be paid for it under the Stamp Duties and Fees
(Jersey) Law 1998.
2 Requirements
for political party to be registered
(1) A political party may
only be registered if it complies with this Article.
(2) The party must have a
name that does not exceed 6 words.
(3) The name of the party,
and any abbreviation of the name and any emblem of the party, must not
be –
(a) offensive,
obscene or otherwise inappropriate; or
(b) either
identical to, or of sufficient similarity that it may be confused with, the
name, abbreviation or emblem of any other organization.
(4) The party must have
3 officeholders, being the Chair, treasurer and
secretary.[3]
(5) A person may hold 2 of
the offices described in paragraph (4), but not all 3.
(6) A person cannot hold
any office described in paragraph (4) unless he or she is registered as an
elector under the 2002 Law.
(7) The party must have an
address in Jersey to which communications intended for the party may be sent.
(8) The party must have a
written constitution, one of the expressed objectives of which must be the
endorsement of candidates for election as Deputy or Connétable.[4]
(9) The party must keep
accounts.
(10) The party must have an
accounting period that does not exceed 12 months.
(11) The States may by Regulations
amend, or make provision in addition to, paragraphs (2) and (3) regarding
the restrictions on the name of a political party.
3 Restriction
on name and emblem used by registered political party
(1) A registered political
party must not use or otherwise hold itself out as known by any name, or
abbreviation of its name, other than the name or abbreviation (if any) that is
registered for it.
(2) A registered political
party must not use or otherwise hold itself out as associated with any emblem
other than the emblem (if any) that is registered for it.
4 Application
for registration of political party
(1) An application for
registration of a political party may be made to the Court, in accordance with
this Article.
(2) An application must
contain –
(a) the
full name of the party and the abbreviation (if any) of that name;
(b) the
emblem, if any, of the party;
(c) an
address, in Jersey, for the purposes of Article 2(7);
(d) the
full names of the Chair, treasurer and secretary of
the party.[5]
(3) An application must be
accompanied by –
(a) a
copy of the party’s constitution;
(b) a
copy of the party’s most recent statement of accounts;
(c) the
fee payable for the application.
(4) The application must be
signed by not less than 20 persons.
(5) A person can only sign
an application if he or she is registered as an elector under the 2002
Law.
(6) The States may by
Regulations amend, in paragraph (4), the number of persons who must sign
the application.
5 Consideration
of application for registration of political party
(1) The Greffier shall
deliver to the Attorney General a copy of an application for registration of a
political party.
(2) The Attorney General
shall inform the Court whether, in his or her opinion, the party complies with
Article 2 and the application complies with Article 4.
(3) The Court shall refuse
to order the registration of a political party if the Court is of the opinion
that the party does not comply with Article 2 or that the application does
not comply with Article 4.
6 Registration
of political party
(1) The Greffier shall
maintain a register of political parties.
(2) Where the Court, on an
application under Article 4, orders the registration of a political party
the Greffier shall enter the following particulars in the register –
(a) the
name of the party and the abbreviation (if any) of that name;
(b) the
emblem (if any) of the party;
(c) the
address, in Jersey, for the party;
(d) the
full names of the Chair, treasurer and secretary of
the party.[6]
(3) The Greffier shall
keep, for each registered political party, a copy of its constitution submitted
under Article 4 or 8, and a copy of its statements of accounts submitted
under Article 4 or 9.
7 Application
for change of name or emblem of registered political party
(1) A registered political
party may, on payment of the fee, apply to the Court for the name and any
abbreviation of the name registered for it to be altered or substituted.
(2) A registered political
party may, on payment of the fee, apply to register an emblem or to substitute
the emblem registered for it.
(3) An application under
this Article must be –
(a) signed
by 2 persons who are registered officeholders of the party; and
(b) accompanied
by evidence that the decision to make the alteration, substitution or addition
was made in accordance with the party’s constitution.
(4) The Court shall refuse
to order the alteration of or addition to the register if the Court is of the
opinion that the name, abbreviation or emblem does not comply with Article 2(2)
and (3) or that the application does not comply with paragraph (3) of this
Article.
(5) Where the Court orders
the alteration of or any addition to the register under this Article, the
Greffier shall enter the particulars of the change in the register.
8 Changes
in particulars of registered party
(1) The Greffier must be
notified, in writing, of –
(a) a
change in the constitution of a registered political party;
(b) a change
in the person holding the office of Chair, treasurer or secretary of a
registered political party;
(c) a
change in the address, in Jersey, of a registered political party.[7]
(2) A notice required by
paragraph (1) must be –
(a) delivered
to the Greffier within the period of 10 working days following the change;
(b) signed
by 2 persons who are registered officeholders of the party; and
(c) accompanied
by evidence that the decision to make the change was made in accordance with
the party’s constitution and, in the case of notice of a change in the
constitution of a registered political party, by a copy of the constitution as
changed.
(3) Where, by reason of
death or incapacity of one or more registered officeholders or other cause, it
is not possible to comply with paragraph (2)(b) when notice is given of a
change described in paragraph (1)(b), the Greffier may –
(a) accept
an alternative means of verification of the notice; or
(b) refer
the matter to Attorney General, in order for the Attorney General to present
the matter to the Court, for the Court to decide whether an alternative means
of verification may be accepted.
(4) The Greffier shall
enter in the register the particulars of any change notified in accordance with
this Article, unless it appears to him or her that the change has the effect
that the party no longer complies with Article 2.
(5) Where it appears to the
Greffier that the change notified has the effect that the party no longer
complies with Article 2, the Greffier shall refer the matter to the
Attorney General.
(6) The States may by
Regulations amend the period mentioned in paragraph (2)(a).
9 Accounts
to be filed
(1) A statement of accounts
in respect of an accounting period of a registered political party must be
delivered to the Greffier within the period of 3 months following the end
of the accounting period.
(2) The States may, by
Regulations, amend the period within which the statement must be delivered,
mentioned in paragraph (1).
10 Removal from the
register
(1) The Court shall order
the removal of a registered political party from the register upon an
application –
(a) signed
by 2 persons who are registered officeholders of the party; and
(b) accompanied
by evidence that the decision to apply for the removal of the party from the register
was made in accordance with its constitution.
(2) The Court may, on the
application of the Attorney General, order the removal of a registered
political party from the register if the Court is satisfied –
(a) that
the party no longer complies with Article 2;
(b) that
the party has not complied with Article 3, 8 or 9; or
(c) that
the party has not, for a period of 5 years, endorsed, in accordance with
the 2002 Law, a person as a candidate for election as a member of the
States or Connétable.[8]
(3) The period mentioned in
paragraph (2)(c) begins on whichever is the later of –
(a) the
date the party is registered;
(b) the
date of the last nomination meeting at which the party endorsed a candidate for
election as a member of the States or Connétable, in accordance with
the 2002 Law.[9]
(4) The States may by
Regulations amend the period mentioned in paragraph (2)(c).
11 Inspection of
register of political parties
(1) A person may inspect
the register at the Judicial Greffe during its normal working hours.
(2) A person may, on
payment of the fee, obtain from the Greffier a copy of any document kept by the
Greffier under Article 6(3).
12 Offence
A person who, knowingly or recklessly, makes any application to the
Court under this Law or delivers any notice to the Greffier under this Law,
which is false in a material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and
liable to a fine of level 3 on the standard scale.[10]
13 Citation
This Law may be cited as the Political Parties (Registration) (Jersey) Law 2008.