Jersey Law 12/1960
SERVICE OF PROCESS AND TAKING OF EVIDENCE (JERSEY) LAW, 1960.
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A LAW to
regulate the service within the Island of process of courts outside the Island,
and vice versa, and to provide for
taking evidence in proceedings pending before courts outside the Island,
sanctioned by Order of Her Majesty in Council of the
7th day of JUNE, 1960.
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(Registered on the 9th day of
July, 1960).
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STATES OF JERSEY.
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The 23rd day of
February, 1960.
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WHEREAS, on the twenty-seventh day of
June, 1562, Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth I granted, by Letters Patent under
the Great Seal, a Charter to the Bailiff and Jurats and other natives and
inhabitants of the Island of Jersey, the said Charter containing a confirmation
of all and singular the laws and customs duly and lawfully used in the Island,
and also granting and confirming to the Bailiff and Jurats and all other
magistrates, officers of Justice, and any other persons appointed there in any
office or duty, full, absolute and complete authority touching all sorts of
pleas, processes, law suits, actions, disputes and cases of any kind whatsoever
arising in the Island, as well real, personal and mixed, as criminal and
capital, and there and not elsewhere to plead, proceed with, prosecute and
defend all these things and in the same matters either to proceed or supersede,
to examine, hear, end, acquit, condemn, decide and put their sentences into
execution according to the laws and customs of the Island theretofore used and
approved ;
Whereas the said
Charter contains a clause which, translated from the original Latin, reads as
follows –
“Moreover we desire and for us our heirs and successors by
these presents we grant to the aforesaid Bailiff and Jurats and other natives
and inhabitants within the Island and other maritime places before mentioned
that none of them for the future should be cited apprehended or drawn into any
lawsuit by any writs or process issued from any of our Courts or other Courts
within our kingdom of England or any of them or in any other way be compelled
to appear or reply without the Island and maritime places aforesaid before any
Judges Courts Magistrates or officers of Justice of ours or of others
concerning or touching any thing suit matter or cause whatsoever arising within
the aforesaid Island but that the said Islanders and any one of them
notwithstanding citations apprehensions writs and processes of the kind
mentioned may and might lawfully and with impunity in the Island and aforesaid
places reside remain be at rest and there await justice without any corporal
punishment or pecuniary fine ransom or loss on that account to be incurred or
suffered and without any offence or cause of contempt or contumacy as far as
concerns our heirs and successors on them or on any one or more of them on that
account to be inflicted imposed or otherwise adjudged. Except only such cases
as by the laws and customs of the Island and aforesaid places may be reserved
to our royal cognisance and examination or by our royal right or privilege
ought to be reserved.” ;
Whereas it is
desirable to make provision for the service in the Island of process of courts
outside the Island, without prejudice to the privileges and immunities
conferred by the said Charter, and for the service outside the Island of
process of Jersey Courts ;
Whereas it is
desirable to make provision for the taking of evidence in relation to civil and
commercial matters pending before courts and tribunals outside the Island ;
And Whereas it is
desirable to make provision for the implementation of agreements entered into
between Her Majesty and the Governments of foreign countries in connexion with
the matters aforesaid;
THE STATES, subject
to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the
following Law : -
PART I
SERVICE OF PROCESS
ARTICLE 1
SERVICE WITHIN THE ISLAND OF PROCESS OF COURTS OUTSIDE THE ISLAND
(1) For
the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that it is not unlawful for any
person to serve on any other person within the Island any process or citation
in any civil or commercial matter summoning or citing that other person to
appear before a court or tribunal of any country outside the Island, whether
within or without Her Majesty’s dominions.
(2) Rules
of court may be made for regulating the service in the Island of any process or
citation in any civil or commercial matter pending before a court or tribunal
of a foreign country –
(a) upon a letter of
request from such court or tribunal transmitted by the Secretary of State with
an intimation that it is desirable that effect be given to the same ; and
(b) for giving effect to
any agreement between Her Majesty and the government of that foreign country in
the matter of the service of any such process or citation as aforesaid.
(3) Nothing
in this Article shall be deemed to import the recognition of jurisdiction in a
court or tribunal outside the Island in any thing, suit, cause or matter
whatsoever in which that court or tribunal is not now recognized by the Law of
the Island as having jurisdiction.
ARTICLE 2
SERVICE OUTSIDE THE ISLAND OF PROCESS OF JERSEY COURTS
Any process in any civil or commercial matter summoning or citing a
person outside the Island to appear before a court of the Island may be served
on that person in such cases and in such manner as may be prescribed by rules
of court.
PART II
TAKING OF EVIDENCE IN RELATION TO
CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL MATTERS PENDING BEFORE COURTS AND TRIBUNALS OUTSIDE THE
ISLAND
ARTICLE 3
ORDER FOR THE EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES IN RELATION TO MATTERS
PENDING BEFORE A COURT OR TRIBUNAL OUTSIDE THE ISLAND
Where, upon an application for this purpose, it appears to the
Royal Court that any court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction in a country
outside the Island, whether within or without Her Majesty’s dominions, is
desirous of obtaining the testimony of any witness or witnesses within the
Island in relation to any civil or commercial matter pending before such court
or tribunal, the Royal Court may order the examination upon oath, upon
interrogatories or otherwise, before any person or persons named in the order,
of such witness or witnesses accordingly ; and may, by the same order or by any
subsequent order, command the attendance of any person to be named in such order,
for the purpose of being examined, or the production of any writings or other
documents mentioned in such order, and may give all such directions as to the
time, place and manner of such examination, and all other matters connected
therewith, as may appear reasonable and just ; and any such order may be
enforced in like manner as an order made by the Royal Court in a cause
depending in that court.
ARTICLE 4
CERTIFICATE OF AMBASSADOR, ETC., SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF
FOREIGN APPLICATION
Where an application is made under this Part of this Law in
relation to a civil or commercial matter pending before a court or tribunal in
a foreign country, a certificate under the hand of the ambassador, minister or
other diplomatic agent of that country, received as such by Her Majesty, or
where there is no such diplomatic agent, then of the consul-general or consul
of that country in London, received and admitted as such by Her Majesty, that
the matter is so pending, and that such court or tribunal is desirous of
obtaining the testimony of the witness or witnesses to whom the application
relates, shall be evidence of the matters so certified ; but where no such
certificate is produced, other evidence to that effect shall be admissible.
ARTICLE 5
EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES TO BE TAKEN UPON OATH
(1) Every
person authorized to take the examination of witnesses by any order made in
pursuance of this Part of this Law may take all such examinations upon the oath
of the witness, and, for that purpose, shall have power to administer an oath.
(2) The
provisions of the Law passed by the States on the 7yh day of April 1869, and
confirmed by Order of Her Majesty in Council of the 13th day of May, 1869,
entitled “Règlement substituant, dans le cas de conscience,
l’affirmation solennelle au serment Judiciaire” shall
apply to the examination of witnesses under this Part of this Law.
ARTICLE 6
EXPENSES OF WITNESSES
Every person whose attendance is required in pursuance of any order
made under this Part of this Law shall be entitled to the like payment as upon
attendance as a witness in civil proceedings before the Royal Court.
ARTICLE 7
EXTENT OF RIGHT OF REFUSAL TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND TO PRODUCE
DOCUMENTS
Every person examined under any order made under this Part of this
Law shall have the like right to refuse to answer questions tending to
criminate himself, and other questions, which a witness in civil proceedings
before the Royal Court would be entitled to, and no person shall be compelled
to produce under any such order as aforesaid any writing or other document that
he would not be compellable to produce in such proceedings.
PART III
GENERAL
ARTICLE 8
RULES OF COURT
The power to make rules of court under the Royal Court (Jersey)
Law, 1948, shall include a power to make rules of court
–
(a) for any purpose for
which rules of court may be made under Part I of this Law ; and
(b) for the purposes of
giving effect to Part II of this Law and regulating the procedure thereunder.
ARTICLE 9
SHORT TITLE
This Law may be cited as the Service of Process and Taking of
Evidence (Jersey) Law, 1960.
To be printed, published and posted.
F. DE L. BOIS,
Greffier of the States.