Jersey Law 13/1974
AGRICULTURAL LAND (CONTROL OF SALES AND LEASES) (JERSEY) LAW, 1974,
SANCTIONED BY
ORDER OF HER
MAJESTY IN COUNCIL
dated 28th June,
1974.
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(Registered on
26th July, 1974).
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ARRANGEMENT OF
ARTICLES
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Art.
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1.
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Interpretation
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2.
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Control of sales and leases of agricultural land
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3.
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Applications for consent
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4.
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Power to revoke consents
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5.
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Appeals
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6.
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Power to obtain information in relation to offences
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7.
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Offences
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8.
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Short title
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AGRICULTURAL LAND (CONTROL OF SALES AND LEASES) (JERSEY) LAW, 1974.
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A LAW to
control sales and leases of agricultural land, sanctioned by Order of Her
Majesty in Council of the
28th day of JUNE, 1974.
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(Registered on the 26th day of
July, 1974).
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STATES OF JERSEY.
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The 16th day of
October, 1973.
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THE STATES, subject to the sanction of
Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law: -
ARTICLE 1
INTERPRETATION
In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires –
“agricultural land” means land measuring more than one
vergée in area, used or capable of being used for any purpose of
agriculture or horticulture, but does not include any dwelling-house or
outbuilding;
“the Committee” means the Committee of Agriculture.
ARTICLE 2
CONTROL OF SALES AND LEASES OF AGRICULTURAL LAND
(1) No
person shall, whether as vendor, purchaser, lessor, lessee or other party, and
whether as principal or agent, enter into any contract for the sale or transfer
of any agricultural land or any lease (whether parol or in writing) of any
agricultural land without the consent of the Committee.
(2) The
Committee may refuse consent to any transaction to which this Article refers or
may grant consent either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as the
Committee thinks fit and, in deciding whether or not to grant consent or
otherwise, the Committee shall have particular regard to the desirability of
reserving agricultural land for the use of bona
fide inhabitants of the Island engaged wholly or mainly in work of an
agricultural or horticultural nature in the Island.
(3) Where
the Committee refuses consent it shall furnish to the applicant a statement in
writing of its reasons for the decision.
(4) Nothing
in this Article shall apply to –
(a) any transaction entered
into before the date of the coming into force of this Law;
(b) any contract of
partition of inherited or devised real estate;
(c) any contract for the
sale or transfer of any lease of any agricultural land to or by the Crown, the
public or a parish;
(d) any transaction of a
class for the time being exempted from the provisions of this Article by
regulations made by the States, and in respect of which such conditions as may
be prescribed in such regulations have been fulfilled.
ARTICLE 3
APPLICATIONS FOR CONSENT
Every application for the consent of the Committee to any
transaction to which this Law applies shall contain or be accompanied by such
particulars, information and documents as may be required by the Committee and
the Committee may require the application to be verified by an affidavit made
by the applicant or some other person having a knowledge of the facts.
ARTICLE 4
POWER TO REVOKE CONSENTS
(1) The
Committee may call on any person to whom consent has been granted under this Law,
at any time before the completion of the transaction to which the consent
relates, to show cause why that consent should not be revoked on the ground
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(a) that a false or
misleading statement has been made in connexion with the application for
consent; or
(b) that all the material
facts in connexion with the transaction were not submitted to the Committee.
(2) Where
the Committee calls on any person to show cause under this Article, that person
shall forthwith surrender to the Committee the evidence of the consent
delivered to him by the Committee and shall not proceed with the transaction to
which the consent relates until the Committee has determined whether or not the
consent shall be revoked.
(3) Unless
cause is shown to the Committee why the consent should not be revoked, the
Committee may revoke the consent, which shall thereupon be deemed not to have
been obtained.
(4) Where
the Committee revokes the consent it shall furnish to the person to whom
consent had been granted a statement in writing of the reasons for the
revocation.
ARTICLE 5
APPEALS
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Committee under Article
2 or Article 4 of this Law may appeal either in term or in vacation to the
Royal Court within two months of the date of the notification of the decision
on the ground that the decision was unreasonable having regard to all the
circumstances of the case.
ARTICLE 6
POWER TO OBTAIN INFORMATION IN RELATION TO OFFENCES
(1) If
the Bailiff is satisfied by information on oath that there is reasonable ground
to believe that an offence against this Law has been committed by any person,
he may, in his discretion, grant a warrant authorizing any person named in the
warrant, for the purpose of obtaining any information or evidence in relation
to the commission of any such offence, to do from time to time all or any of
the following things –
(a) inspect and examine any
books, accounts, vouchers, records or documents;
(b) require any person to
produce any books, accounts, vouchers, records or documents in his possession,
or under his control, and to allow copies of or extracts from any such books,
accounts, vouchers, records or documents to be made;
(c) require any person to
furnish any information or particulars that may be required of him, not being
information or particulars tending to incriminate him;
(d) enter on and inspect
any land.
(2) Any
person who –
(a) wilfully resists,
obstructs, hinders, deceives, or attempts to deceive, any person who is
exercising any power or function under this Article;
(b) wilfully makes any
false or misleading statement or any material omission in any information or
particulars furnished under this Article;
(c) fails to comply in any
respect with any requirement under this Article; or
(d) aids, abets, counsels
or procures, or is in any way knowingly concerned with, the commission of any
such offence as aforesaid;
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine.
ARTICLE 7
OFFENCES
(1) Any
person who –
(a) without lawful excuse
acts in contravention of or fails to comply with any provision of this Law or
with any condition made or imposed under this Law;
(b) with intent to deceive
makes any false or misleading statement or any material omission in any
application to the Committee, or in any communication (whether in writing or
otherwise) to the Committee or any person, for the purposes of this Law;
(c) whether as principal or
agent and whether by himself or his agent, enters into, or offers to enter
into, or procures or induces or attempts to procure or induce any other person
to enter into, any transaction or arrangement that is or is intended to be
inconsistent with an application made or to be made, or consent given or to be
given, under this Law;
(d) whether as principal or
agent and whether by himself or his agent, and whether as vendor, purchaser,
lessor, lessee or other party, or otherwise howsoever, is party to any device,
plan or scheme for any transaction or arrangement that is or is intended to be
in contravention of this Law or inconsistent with any application made or to be
made, or consent given or to be given, under this Law;
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine.
(2) In
any proceedings for an offence against this Law, the burden of proving that the
consent of the Committee has been granted to any transaction, or that this Law
did not apply to any transaction, shall be on the person charged with the
offence.
(3) Notwithstanding
any enactment or rule of law to the contrary, proceedings which may be taken
against any person for an offence against this Law may be taken within the
period of a year and a day from the date on which evidence, sufficient in the
opinion of the Attorney General to justify the proceedings, comes to the
knowledge of the Committee or, where the person in question was outside the
Island at that date, within the period of a year and a day from the date on
which he first lands in the Island thereafter, whichever of the said periods
last expires.
(4) For
the purposes of paragraph (3) of this Article, a certificate under the hand of
the President of the Committee as to the date on which such evidence as
aforesaid came to the knowledge of the Committee shall be conclusive evidence
thereof.
ARTICLE 8
SHORT TITLE
This Law may be cited as the Agricultural Land (Control of Sales
and Leases) (Jersey) Law, 1974.
E.J.M. POTTER
Greffier of the States.