Motor Vehicles
(Removal from Private Land) (Jersey) Law 2019
A LAW to permit the removal of motor
vehicles from private land and connected matters.
Adopted by the
States 20th November 2018
Sanctioned by
Order of Her Majesty in Council 13th February 2019
Registered by the
Royal Court 22nd
February 2019
THE STATES, subject to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have
adopted the following Law –
1 Interpretation
(1) In this
Law, unless the context otherwise requires –
“Airport Director” means
the person appointed as such under Article 2 of the Aerodromes
(Administration) (Jersey) Law 1952[1];
“Harbour Master” means the
person who is appointed as such under Article 2 of the Harbours
(Administration) (Jersey) Law 1961[2];
“Inspector of Motor Traffic” means the Inspector of
Motor Traffic appointed under Article 2 of the Motor Traffic (Jersey) Law 1935[3];
“land owner” means the
person for the time being having the enjoyment of that land, either as owner or
usufructuary owner or in the exercise of rights of dower, franc veuvage,
seignorialty or otherwise;
“Minister” means the Minister for Home Affairs;
“motor vehicle” has the same meaning as in Article 2
of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956[4];
“motor vehicle owner” means
the registered owner, driver or other person in control or in charge of that motor
vehicle and, in relation to a motor vehicle that is the subject of a hiring
agreement or hire-purchase agreement, includes the person in possession of that
motor vehicle under that agreement;
“parking place” means a
place allocated for the parking of a motor vehicle or a motor vehicle of any class or description;
“private land” means any road, driveway, parking place,
footway or other place that is not land belonging to the public of Jersey or
under the administration of any parochial authority;
“registered owner”, in relation to a motor vehicle,
means the person for the time being entered in the register of motor vehicles
described in Article 3 of the Motor Vehicle Registration (Jersey) Law 1993[5] as the owner of that
vehicle;
“trailer” has the same meaning as in Article 1(1)
of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956[6].
(2) In
this Law, a reference to the removal of a motor vehicle from private land includes
the removal of a motor vehicle or a trailer from one position to another on
private land and the removal of any load carried by a motor vehicle or trailer.
(3) The
States may by Regulations amend paragraph (1).
2 Power
to prohibit motor vehicle immobilization, interference or removal
(1) The States may by Regulations prohibit the interference
or removal of a motor vehicle on private land for any purpose, by any means, by
any person or in any circumstance specified in the Regulations.
(2) The States may by Regulations also prohibit
the attachment or other use of an immobilization device on a motor vehicle left
on private land.
(3) In this Article “immobilization
device” means a device or appliance designed or adapted for the purpose
of preventing a motor vehicle from being driven or otherwise put in motion.
3 Power
to remove vehicles from private land
(1) The States may by Regulations make such provision
as may appear to the States to be necessary or expedient to permit the removal
of motor vehicles from private land.
(2) Regulations made under paragraph (1)
may include provision for any of the following –
(a) the circumstances in which a motor vehicle
may be removed or must not be removed;
(b) requirements to be satisfied before a motor
vehicle may be removed;
(c) requirements for the removal, storage,
custody, recovery or disposal of a motor vehicle removed;
(d) the persons or classes of persons who may
remove motor vehicles from private land;
(e) the circumstances in which the Inspector of
Motor Traffic or a parochial authority must or may provide details of a
registered keeper of a motor vehicle to a person specified in the Regulations
or in circumstances specified in the Regulations;
(f) the procedure for notifying a person before
or after the removal of a motor vehicle of the removal and of its storage,
disposal or means of recovery of it;
(g) the recovery of expenses reasonably incurred
in the removal, storage, custody, recovery or disposal of a motor vehicle
removed from private land;
(h) the resolution of disputes or complaints in
connection with the removal, storage, custody, recovery or disposal of a motor
vehicle;
(i) any other provision connected to the
exercise of the power under paragraph (1) or this paragraph.
(3) In this Article a reference to disposal of a
motor vehicle or trailer includes the sale, transfer or destruction of a motor vehicle
or any load carried by the motor vehicle or trailer.
4 Parking
charges for unauthorized parking on private land
(1) The States may by Regulations make provision
enabling a land owner, whether personally or through an agent, to impose a parking
charge, or an additional or excess parking charge, upon a motor vehicle owner
in respect of a motor vehicle or trailer that is left on that land owner’s
land.
(2) Regulations under this Article may
provide for any of the following –
(a) the maximum amount of parking charges, the
discounting of a parking charge for early payment, any additional parking
charge for late payment or any excess parking charge, that may imposed;
(b) the circumstances when a parking charge described
in sub-paragraph (a) may, or must not, be recovered, including any
requirement for a land owner to give notice that a parking charge is imposed
when a motor vehicle or trailer is left on land specified in the notice;
(c) the persons who may impose a parking charge
and the persons from whom a parking charge may, or must not, be recovered;
(d) the circumstances in which –
(i) the Inspector of Motor Traffic or a parochial
authority must or may provide details of a registered keeper of a motor vehicle,
or
(ii) the motor vehicle owner must or may
provide details of any person to whom he or she has hired or lent a motor
vehicle to a person specified in the Regulations or in circumstances specified in
the Regulations;
(e) the conditions that must be satisfied before
a person may impose or recover a parking charge including –
(i) the contents of any notice to be displayed
or served in connection with a parking charge,
(ii) any evidence that may or must be
produced in connection with a parking charge, and
(ii) the means of bringing any notice to
the attention of any motor vehicle owner;
(f) the resolution of disputes or
complaints in connection with the imposition or recovery of a parking charge;
(g) the means of recovery of an unpaid parking
charge or an additional or excess parking charge;
(h) such other matters as the States consider to
be necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Regulation.
5 Register
of motor vehicle removal operators
(1) The States may by Regulations provide for
the establishment and maintenance of a register of motor vehicle removal
operators.
(2) Regulations made under paragraph (1)
may include provision for such matters as the States consider to be necessary
or expedient for the purposes of the establishment and maintenance of such a
register, including any of the following –
(a) the person who must maintain the register;
(b) the information that must be included in the
register;
(c) the criteria for registration;
(d) fees for applications for registration,
including any refund of fees;
(e) the grounds for accepting or refusing
applications for registration;
(f) the attachment of conditions to the
registration of a person;
(g) the processes for making or granting applications
for registration, or for suspending or cancelling a person’s
registration;
(h) the process for appealing against decisions
made in respect of the granting of, or the refusal to grant, applications for
registration, the imposition of any conditions, or the suspension or the
cancellation of a registration;
(i) the duration or renewal of a registration;
(j) the giving of any notice in connection
with a registration;
(k) the publication of the register or any part
of it;
(l) restrictions or prohibitions on
operating as a motor vehicle removal operator without being registered.
(3) Regulations may permit or require the
Minister to –
(a) publish the particulars that must be
contained in an application for registration as a vehicle removal operator and
any information that must accompany such application;
(b) prescribe the amount of any fee payable
under the Regulations; or
(c) publish guidance or codes of practice to
apply in relation to vehicle removal operators.
(4) In this Article “publish” means
publish in a manner that is likely to bring it to the attention of those
affected.
6 Rules
of Court
The powers to make Rules of
Court under Article 29 of the Magistrate’s Court (Miscellaneous
Provisions) (Jersey) Law 1949[7], and under Article 13 of the Royal Court (Jersey) Law 1948[8], includes powers to make Rules regulating the practice and
procedure for applications and appeals under this Law.
7 General
provisions as to Regulations
Regulations made under this
Law may –
(a) make different provision for different cases
and contain such incidental, supplementary, transitional, transitory, consequential
or savings provisions as appear to the States to be necessary or expedient; and
(b) create offences, and specify penalties for
such offences not exceeding a level 3 fine on the standard scale.
8 General
provisions as to offences
(1) Where an offence under Regulations made
under this Law, committed by a body corporate, limited liability partnership or
separate limited partnership, is proved to have been committed with the consent
or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part
of –
(a) a person who is a partner of the
partnership, or director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the
company; or
(b) any person purporting to act in any such
capacity,
the person is guilty of the
offence and liable in the same manner as the partnership or body corporate to
the penalty provided for that offence.
(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are
managed by its members, paragraph (1) applies in relation to acts and
defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as
if the member were a director of the body corporate.
9 Power
of Centenier to impose penalty
(1) Where a person charged with an offence under
this Law accepts the decision of a Centenier having jurisdiction in the matter,
the Centenier may impose a fine of an amount not exceeding level 1 on the
standard scale.
(2) A fine imposed under paragraph (1) is
to be paid for the benefit of the parish in which the offence was committed.
10 Limitation of
liability
(1) None of the following is liable in damages
for any act done in the performance or purported performance of any power or
duty conferred by or under this Law –
(a) a police officer;
(b) a parochial authority;
(c) the Minister;
(d) any States employee who is, or is acting as,
an officer, employee or agent of the States or of the Minister or performing
any function on behalf of the States or of the Minister;
(e) the Harbour Master or any person who is, or
is acting as, an officer, employee, or agent of the Harbour Master or
performing any function on behalf of the Harbour Master;
(f) the Airport Director or any person who
is, or is acting as, an officer, employee, or agent of the Harbour Master or
performing any function on behalf of the Harbour Master.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply –
(a) if it is shown that the act was done in bad
faith; nor
(b) so as to prevent an award of damages made in
respect of an act on the ground that the act was unlawful as a result of Article 7(1)
of the Human Rights (Jersey) Law 2000[9].
11 Road
Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 amended
In Article 1(1) of the
Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956[10], for the definition “road” there shall be substituted
the following definition –
“‘road’ means any public road, any other road to
which the public has access, any of the roads on the Rue des Près
Trading Estate, any bridge over which a road passes and any sea beach;”.
12 Citation
and commencement
This Law may be cited as the Motor Vehicles (Removal from Private
Land) (Jersey) Law 2019 and comes into force 7 days after it is
registered.
l.-m. hart
Deputy Greffier of the States