Jersey Law 6/1967

 

LAW REFORM (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) (JERSEY) LAW, 1967.

____________

A LAW   to make provision for the abolition of the offices of prevot, sergent and bedel and for regulating procedure in the Petty Debts Court, to amend and to make provision for amending the Law in relation to fines and forfeitures, to abolish the “Cour du Billet”, to prescribe the period in which actions may be brought on judgments of the Royal Court and Petty Debts Court and to provide for certain ancillary matters, sanctioned by Order of Her Majesty in Council of the

 

24th day of MAY, 1967.

____________

 

(Registered on the 16th day of June, 1967)

____________

 

STATES OF JERSEY

____________

 

The 17th day of January, 1967.

____________

THE STATES, subject to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law :  -

ARTICLE 1

INTERPRETATION

In this Law, “prévôt” and “sergent” mean respectively a Queen’s prévôt and a Queen’s sergent.

ARTICLE 2

EXTENSION OF POWER TO MAKE RULES OF COURT

(1)     The power of the Royal Court to make rules of court under Article 11 of the Royal Court (Jersey) Law, 1948,1 shall include a power to make rules –

(a)     for abolishing any functions of a prévôt or a sergent;

(b)     for the carrying out of any functions of a prévôt or a sergent by such persons or by such means as may be specified in the rules ;

(c)     for regulating and prescribing in relation to the petty debts court any matters which may be regulated and prescribed under the said article ii (other than sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) thereof) in relation to the royal court ;

(d)     in relation to the collection of fines and other penalties imposed by any court and the disposal of forfeitures.

(2)     In the application of sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph (1) of the said article 11, as extended by sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (1) of this article, the reference to the bailiff alone and to the bailiff and jurats shall be construed as a reference to the judge of the petty debts court.

ARTICLE 3

ABOLITION OF THE OFFICES OF PRÉVÔT, SERGENT AND BEDEL

(1)     Where rules of court under sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph (1) of Article 2 of this Law have made the full provision which may be made for the abolition of the functions of prévôt or sergent or for the carrying out of such of those functions as have not been abolished and it is so declared in the rules, the office in relation to which such provision has been made shall be abolished and all duties, rights and privileges attaching to such office shall cease.

(2)     The office of bedel is hereby abolished and all duties, rights and privileges attaching to such office shall cease.

ARTICLE 4

RECORDS OF APPARIEMENTS AND LISTS OF RENTES ANCIENNES DUE TO AND BY THE CROWN

(1)     It shall be the duty of every person having in his possession the record of any appariements or any list of rentes anciennes due to or by the Crown to inform the Receiver-General that he has the same in his possession and, if the Receiver-General so requires, to deliver the same to the Receiver-General.

(2)     If any such person as aforesaid wilfully fails to comply with any of the requirements of this Article, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds and, where the offence consists of a failure to deliver any record or document, to a further fine not exceeding one pound for each day during which the offence continues after conviction thereof.

ARTICLE 5

DISPOSAL OF FINES AND OTHER PECUNIARY PENALTIES

(1)     Where any enactment passed before the coming into force of this Law provides that any fine or other pecuniary penalty, or any part thereof –

(a)     shall be awarded for the benefit of any funds administered by the States or any administration of the States (other than the general revenues of the States), or for the benefit of any administration of the States or of any department or institution administered by the States, or for the benefit of any common informer, or shall be applied for any public purposes, the same shall be awarded for the benefit of the general revenues of the States ;

(b)     shall be awarded for the benefit of any funds administered by a parish (other than the general revenues of the parish), or for the benefit of any department or institution administered by a parish, or shall be applied for any parochial purposes, the same shall be awarded for the benefit of the general revenues of the parish.

ARTICLE 6

ABOLITION OF “COUR DU BILLET”

The “Cour du Billet” is hereby abolished and any action which could be instituted in the “Cour du Billet” shall be instituted in the “Cour du Samedi”.

ARTICLE 7

LIMITATION OF ACTIONS

No action shall lie on any judgment of the Royal Court or the Petty Debts Court after the expiration of ten years from the date on which the judgment became enforceable.

ARTICLE 8

REPEALS

The following are hereby repealed, namely–

(a)     in the Code of Laws confirmed by order of Her Majesty in Council of the twenty-eighth day of March, 1771, the provisions under the title “A La Cour du Billet”;2

(b)     in the “Loi (1891) sur la Cour pour le recouvrement de menues dettes”3 –

(i)      in the first paragraph of Article 14 thereof, all the words after the words “ les biens-meubles du défendeur”;

(ii)     Article 21 ;

(c)     any rule of law or custom contrary to the provisions of this Law.

ARTICLE 9

SHORT TITLE AND COMMENCEMENT

(1)     This Law may be cited as the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Jersey) Law, 1967.

(2)     This Law shall come into force on the second Monday next following the day on which it is promulgated.

 

A.D. Le brocq,

 

Greffier of the States.