Corruption (Jersey)
Law 2006
A LAW to create new offences of
corruption, to abolish the customary law offence of bribery and for connected
purposes, enabling the extension to Jersey of the ratification, acceptance or
approval of the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption of the Council of Europe
done at Strasbourg on 27 January 1999 and the Convention on Combating Bribery
of Foreign Public Officials in International Transactions of the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development adopted by the Negotiating Conference
on 21 November 1997
Adopted by the
States 25th October 2005
Sanctioned by
Order of Her Majesty in Council 9th May 2006
Registered by the
Royal Court 26th
May 2006
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 –
“advantage”
means –
(a) any
gift;
(b) any
office, employment or contract;
(c) any
dignity;
(d) any
deferral, payment, release or discharge of any loan, obligation or other
liability, whether in whole or in part;
(e) the
exercise, or forbearance from the exercise, of any right, power or duty;
(f) any
other service or favour, including –
(i) any aid, vote,
consent, or influence, or pretended aid, vote, consent or influence,
(ii) any protection
from any penalty or disability, whether incurred or apprehended,
(iii) any protection from any
action or proceedings of a disciplinary, civil or criminal nature, whether or
not already instituted;
(g) any
offer, undertaking or promise, whether conditional or unconditional, or the
holding out of any other expectation of, any advantage described in
sub-paragraphs (a) to (f);
“agent” has the
meaning given in Article 2;
“gift” means any
gift, loan, fee or reward consisting of money or any valuable security or of any
other property or interest in property of any description;
“Jersey company”
means a body incorporated under the laws of Jersey;
“limited liability partnership”
has the same meaning as in the Limited
Liability Partnerships (Jersey) Law 1997[1];
“principal” includes
an employer and a person on whose behalf another person is employed;
“public body” has
the meaning given in Article 3;
“public office”
means any office or employment of a person as a member, officer or servant of a
public body;
“public official” has
the meaning given in Article 4.
(2) For
the purposes of this Law a national of the United Kingdom is an individual
who is –
(a) a
British citizen, a British Dependent Territories citizen, a British National
(Overseas) or a British Overseas Citizen;
(b) a
person who under the British Nationality
Act 1981 of the United Kingdom Parliament is a British subject; or
(c) a
British protected person within the meaning of that Act.
2 Meaning
of “agent”
(1) In
this Law, unless the context otherwise requires, “agent”
includes –
(a) a
person employed by or on behalf of another person;
(b) a
public official;
(c) an
auditor;
(d) a
juror;
(e) a
person of any of the following descriptions –
(i) a member of the
government of any other country or territory,
(ii) a member of a
parliament, whether regional or national, of any other country or territory,
(iii) a member of the
European Parliament,
(iv) a member of the Court
of Auditors of the European Communities,
(v) a member of the
Commission of the European Communities,
(vi) a public prosecutor in
any other country or territory,
(vii) a judge of a court or
tribunal in any other country or territory,
(viii) a judge of a court or tribunal
established under an international agreement,
(ix) a member of, or any
other person employed by or acting for or on behalf of, any body established
under an international agreement,
(x) a person employed by or
acting for or on behalf of the public administration of any other country or
territory.
(2) The
States may by Regulations amend the definition “agent” in
paragraph (1).
3 Meaning
of “public body”
(1) In
this Law, “public body” means –
(a) the
States of Jersey;
(b) any
Committee of the States;
(c) any
board, commission, committee or other body, whether paid or unpaid, appointed
by the States or by a Committee of the States;
(d) any
board, commission, committee or other body, whether paid or unpaid –
(i) having power to
act under and for the purposes of any enactment relating to the raising of a
rate in or the administration of a parish, or
(ii) administering or
supervising the provision of welfare or any other service in a parish,
and any other body whose membership consists of officers of a parish
or persons elected by a parish assembly;
(e) the
Jersey Financial Services Commission established under the Financial Services Commission (Jersey)
Law 1998[2];
(f) the
Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority established under the Competition Regulatory Authority (Jersey)
Law 2001[3],
and includes any such body which exists in a country or territory
outside Jersey and is equivalent to any body described above.
(2) The
States may by Regulations amend the definition “public body” in
paragraph (1).
4 Meaning
of “public official”
(1) In
this Law, unless the context otherwise requires, “public official”
means –
(a) a
member of a public body;
(b) an
officer or employee of a public body;
(c) the
Bailiff, Deputy Bailiff and any Lieutenant Bailiff;
(d) a
judge of the Royal Court;
(e) a
judge of the Court of Appeal;
(f) the
Magistrate;
(g) a
jurat;
(h) a
member of the Youth Court panel;
(i) the
Attorney General and Solicitor General;
(j) a
Crown Advocate;
(k) the
Greffier of the States, the Deputy Greffier of the States and any Acting
Greffier of the States;
(l) the
Judicial Greffier, the Deputy Judicial Greffier and any Greffier Substitute;
(m) the
Viscount, the Deputy Viscount and any Viscount Substitute;
(n) the
Master of the Royal Court;
(o) the
Receiver General;
(p) an
employee of the Crown;
(q) a
member of the Honorary Police or an officer of the States of Jersey Police
Force.
(2) The
States may by Regulations amend the definition “public official” in
paragraph (1).
5 Corruption
concerning public body
(1) It
shall be an offence for a person, whether alone or in conjunction with another
person, corruptly to –
(a) solicit
or receive or agree to receive, whether for his or her own benefit or for the
benefit of any other person; or
(b) give,
promise or offer to any person, whether for the benefit of that person or any
other person,
any advantage as an inducement to or reward for, or otherwise on
account of, any member, officer or employee of a public body doing, or not
doing, anything in respect of any matter or transaction whatsoever, whether
actual or proposed, in which that public body is concerned.
(2) A
person shall not be exempt from punishment for an offence under this
Article by reason of the invalidity of the appointment or election of a
person to public office.
(3) A
person guilty of an offence under this Article shall be liable to
imprisonment for a term of 10 years and to a fine.
6 Corrupt
transactions with agents
(1) It
shall be an offence –
(a) for
an agent corruptly to accept or obtain, or agree to accept or attempt to
obtain, from any person, whether for his or her own benefit or for the benefit
of any other person; or
(b) for
any person corruptly to give or agree to give or offer to an agent, whether for
the benefit of the agent or for the benefit of any other person,
any advantage as an inducement to or reward for doing, or not doing,
or for having done or not done, any act in relation to the affairs or business
of the agent’s principal or for showing, or not showing, favour or
disfavour to any person in relation to the affairs or business of the
agent’s principal.
(2) A
person guilty of an offence under this Article shall be liable to
imprisonment for a term of 10 years and to a fine.
(3) For
the purposes of this Article, it is immaterial if –
(a) the
principal’s affairs or business have no connection with Jersey and are
conducted in a country or territory outside Jersey; or
(b) the
agent’s functions have no connection with Jersey and are carried out in a
country or territory outside Jersey.
7 Corruption
by public official
(1) It
shall be an offence for a public official to do or not do any act in relation
to the official’s position, office or employment, for the purpose of
corruptly obtaining any advantage, whether for his or her own benefit or for
the benefit of any other person.
(2) A
person guilty of an offence under this Article shall be liable to
imprisonment for a term of 10 years and to a fine.
8 Extended
jurisdiction for offences
(1) A
person may be tried in Jersey for an offence under this Law if any of the acts alleged to constitute
the offence was committed in Jersey, notwithstanding that other acts
constituting the offence were committed outside Jersey.
(2) Where –
(a) a
national of the United Kingdom resident in Jersey, a Jersey company or a
limited liability partnership does anything in a country or territory outside
Jersey; and
(b) the
act would, if done in Jersey, constitute an offence under this Law,
the act shall constitute the offence under this Law and
proceedings for it may be taken in Jersey.
9 Customary
law offence of bribery abolished
(1) The
customary law offence of bribery is abolished.
(2) Paragraph
(1) shall not affect any investigation or criminal proceedings in respect of an
act committed before paragraph (1) comes into force, and any such investigation
or criminal proceedings may be instituted, continued or enforced as if
paragraph (1) had not come into force.
10 Offences by
bodies corporate, etc.
(1) Where
an offence under this Law committed by a body corporate or by a limited
liability partnership is proved to have been committed with the consent or
connivance of, or to be attributable to neglect on the part of –
(a) a
person who is a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the
body corporate, or a partner of the partnership; or
(b) a
person purporting to act in any such capacity,
the person shall also be guilty of the offence and liable in the
same manner as the body corporate or the partnership to the penalty provided
for the offence.
(2) Where
the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (1)
shall apply in relation to acts and defaults of a member in connection with the
member’s functions of management as if the member were a director of the
body corporate.
11 Aiders and abettors
A person who aids, abets, counsels or procures the commission of an
offence under this Law shall also be guilty of the offence and liable in the
same manner as a principal offender to the penalty provided for that offence.
12 Restriction on
prosecution
A prosecution for an offence under this Law shall not be
instituted except by or with the consent of the Attorney General.
13 Amendments consequential on the move to ministerial government
In Article 3(1) for sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) there shall be
substituted the following sub-paragraphs –
“(b) the Chief Minister and any
other Minister or Assistant Minister;
(ba) any committee or panel established by standing
orders of the States of Jersey;
(bb) the States Employment Board established by the
Employment of States of Jersey Employees (Jersey) Law 2005[4];
(c) any
board, commission, committee or other body, whether paid or unpaid, appointed
by the States or by any committee or panel established by standing orders of
the States of Jersey;”.
14 Amendment of
Police Procedures and Criminal Evidence (Jersey) Law 2003
Schedule 1 to the Police
Procedures and Criminal Evidence (Jersey) Law 2003[5] shall be amended by
adding, at the end of Part 2, the item –
“12. Any offence under the Corruption (Jersey) Law 2006.”.
15 Amendment of
States of Jersey Law 1966
In the States of Jersey
Law 1966[6] –
(a) for
Article 8(1)(j) there shall be substituted the following
sub-paragraph –
“(j) the person has been
convicted of an offence under the Corruption
(Jersey) Law 2006 by virtue of that person being, within the
meaning of that Law, a public official or a member, officer or employee of a
public body;”;
(b) Article
49(c) shall be deleted;
(c) Article
50 shall be repealed.
16 Amendment
of States of Jersey Law 2005
In the States of Jersey Law
2005[7] –
(a) for Article 8(1)(g) there shall be
substituted the following sub-paragraph –
“(g) has
been convicted of an offence under the Corruption (Jersey) Law 2006 by
virtue of that person being, within the meaning of that Law, a public official
or a member, officer or employee of a public body;”;
(b) Articles 44 and 45 shall be repealed.
17 Citation and
commencement
This Law may be cited as the Corruption (Jersey) Law 2006
and shall come into force on such day or days as the States by Act appoint.
m.n. de la haye
Greffier of the States