Jersey Law 18/1973

 

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (JERSEY) LAW, 1973.

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1         Interpretation

2         General Implementation of Treaty Arrangements

3         Decisions on, and Proof of, Treaties and Community Instruments etc

4         Customs Duties

5         Agricultural Levies

6         Non-Discrimination

7         Community Offences

8         Miscellaneous Amendments and Repeals

9         Short Title and Commencement

A LAW     to make new provision for the implementation of the arrangements for the Bailiwick in connexion with the European Communities, sanctioned by Order of Her Majesty in Council of the

 

27th day of JULY, 1973.

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(Registered on the 31st day of August , 1973).

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STATES OF JERSEY.

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The 18th day of July, 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

(1)           In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires –

“the Committee” means the Finance and Economics Committee;

“the Communities” means the European Economic Community, the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community;

“Community customs duty” means, in relation to any goods, such duty of customs as may from time to time be fixed for those goods by directly applicable Community provision as the duty chargeable on importation into member States;

“Community institution” means any institution of any of the Communities or common to the Communities; and any reference to an institution of a particular Community shall include one common to the Communities when it acts for that Community, and similarly with references to a Committee, officer or servant of a particular Community;

“Community instrument” means any instrument issued by a Community institution;

“the Customs Law” means the Customs and Excise (General Provisions) (Jersey) Law, 1972;1

“the European Court” means the Court of Justice of the European Communities;

“member”, in the expression “member State”, refers to membership of the Communities;

“prescribe” means prescribe by order;

“the Treaties” or “the Community Treaties” means, subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article, the pre-accession treaties, that is to say, those described in the First Schedule to this Law, taken with –

(a)     the treaty relating to the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Economic Community and to the European Atomic Energy Community, signed at Brussels on the 22nd January, 1972; and

(b)     the decision, of the same date, of the Council of the European Communities relating to the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Coal and Steel Community;

and any other treaty entered into by any of the Communities, with or without any of the member States, or entered into, as a treaty ancillary to any of the Treaties by the United Kingdom.

(2)           Where Her Majesty by Order in Council made in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of section 1 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (of the United Kingdom) declares that a treaty specified in the Order is to be regarded as one of the Community Treaties as defined in that Act, the Order shall be conclusive that it is to be regarded as one of the Community Treaties as herein defined; but a Treaty entered into by the United Kingdom after 22nd January 1972, other than a preaccession Treaty to which the United Kingdom accedes on terms settled on or before that date, shall not be regarded as one of the Community Treaties as herein defined unless it is so specified.

(3)           For the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article, the expression “treaty” includes any international agreement, and any protocol or annex to a treaty or international agreement.

(4)           References in this Law to any enactment shall be construed as including references to that enactment as amended and as extended or applied by or under any other enactment and as including references to any enactment repealing and re-enacting that enactment with or without further amendment.

(5)           The Subordinate Legislation (Jersey) Law, 1960,2 shall apply to orders made under this Law.

ARTICLE 2

GENERAL IMPLEMENTATION OF TREATY ARRANGEMENTS

(1)           For the purpose of implementing in the Bailiwick the arrangements for the Channel Islands set out in the Treaties, all rights, powers, liabilities, obligations and restrictions from time to time created or arising by or under those arrangements, and all such remedies and procedures from time to time provided for by or under those arrangements, as in accordance therewith are without further enactment to be given legal effect or used in the Channel Islands shall, in the Bailiwick, be recognized and available in law, and be enforced, allowed and followed accordingly.

(2)           Any enactment passed or to be passed shall be construed and have effect subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article.

(3)           Any instrument containing any matter referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall, as soon as practicable, be presented to the States and lodged “au Greffe”.

(4)           The provisions of Article 3 of the Official Publications (Jersey) Law, 1960,3 shall apply to any such instrument.

ARTICLE 3

DECISIONS ON, AND PROOF OF, TREATIES AND COMMUNITY INSTRUMENTS ETC

(1)           For the purposes of all legal proceedings any question as to the meaning or effect of any of the provisions of the Treaties having effect in the Bailiwick by virtue of the arrangements for the Channel Islands contained therein, or as to the validity, meaning or effect of any Community instrument having like effect, shall be treated as a question of law (and, if not referred to the European Court, be for determination as such in accordance with the principles laid down by, and any relevant decision of, the European Court).

(2)           Judicial notice shall be taken of the Treaties, of the Official Journal of the Communities and of any decision of, or expression of opinion by, the European Court on any such question as aforesaid; and the Official Journal shall be admissible as evidence of any instrument or other act thereby communicated of any of the Communities or of any Community institution.

(3)           Evidence of any instrument issued by a Community institution, including any judgment or order of the European Court, or of any document in the custody of a Community institution, or any entry in or extract from such a document, may be given in any legal proceedings by production of a copy certified as a true copy by an official of that institution; and any document purporting to be such a copy shall be received in evidence without proof of the official position or handwriting of the person signing the certificate.

(4)           Evidence of any Community instrument may also be given in any legal proceedings by production of a copy purporting to be printed by the Queen’s Printer.

ARTICLE 4

CUSTOMS DUTIES

(1)           Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article, on and after the relevant date there shall be charged, levied, collected and paid on goods imported into the Bailiwick such Community customs duty, if any, as is for the time being applicable in accordance with the Treaties or, if the goods are not within the common customs tariff of the Economic Community and the duties chargeable are not otherwise fixed by any directly applicable Community provisions, such duty of customs, if any, as the Committee may by order prescribe.

For this purpose “the relevant date”, in relation to any goods, is the date on and after which the duties of customs that may be charged thereon are no longer affected under the Treaties by any temporary provision made on or with reference to the accession of the United Kingdom to the Communities.

(2)           Where as regards goods imported into the customs territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man provision may, in accordance with the Treaties, be made in derogation of the common customs tariff or of the exclusion of customs duties as between member States, the Committee may by order make such provision as to the customs duties chargeable on the goods, or as to exempting the goods from any customs duty, as the Committee may determine.

(3)           The customs duties charged in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article shall be deemed for the purposes of any enactment to be duties of customs under the Customs Law and, subject to any amendment made by this Law, Article 3 of the Import Duties (Jersey) Law, 1932,4 shall apply to orders under paragraph (1) or (2) of this Article as if they were orders under that Law.

(4)           So long as Articles 3 and 3A of the Import Duties (Jersey) Law, 19325 remain in force, that Law shall have effect subject to the following modifications –

(a)     the power under paragraph (1) of the said Article 3 to charge duties shall include power to charge duties with a view to securing compliance with any obligation necessary to implement the arrangements for the Bailiwick set out in the Treaties;

(b)     any order made under the said Article 3 may, in relation to goods of the same description, make different provision by reference to the use to be made of the goods or to other matters not ascertainable from an examination of the goods;

(c)     the powers exercisable by virtue of the said Article 3A in relation to goods qualifying for Commonwealth preference, shall include power to distinguish in any respect between different parts of the Commonwealth preference area;

(d)     the powers exercisable by virtue of Article 21 of the Customs Law,6 shall, as regards relief provided for by or under the Treaties or for conformity with any obligation necessary to implement the arrangements for the Bailiwick set out in the Treaties extend to any customs duties or impôt duties.

(5)           As regards reliefs from import duties, the Committee may by Order make such further provision as appears to it to be expedient having regard to the practices adopted or to be adopted in member States of the Community whether by law or administrative action and whether or not for conformity with any obligation necessary to implement the arrangements for the Bailiwick set out in the Treaties and any such order may amend or repeal accordingly any of the provisions of the Laws relating to customs or impôts.

(6)           For the purpose of implementing the arrangements for the Bailiwick set out in the Treaties, the Agent of the Impôts shall co-operate with other customs services on matters of mutual concern and may for that purpose –

(a)     give effect in accordance with such arrangements as he may direct, to any Community requirement or practice as to the movement of goods between countries including any rules requiring payment to be made in connexion with the exportation of goods to compensate for any relief from customs duty allowed or to be allowed and may recover any such payment as if it were an amount of customs duty unpaid;

(b)     give effect to any reciprocal arrangements made between member States (with or without other countries or territories) for securing, by the exchange of information or otherwise, the due administration of their customs laws and the prevention or detection of fraud or evasion.

(7)           Where on the exportation of any goods from the Bailiwick there has been furnished for the purpose of any Community requirement or practice any certificate or other evidence as to the origin of those goods, or as to payments made or relief from duty allowed in any country or territory, then for the purpose of verifying or investigating that certificate or evidence, the Agent of the Impôts or any officer of the Impôts may require the exporter, or any other person appearing to the said Agent or officer to have been concerned in any way with the goods, or with any goods from which, directly or indirectly, they have been produced or manufactured, or to have been concerned with the obtaining or furnishing of the certificates or evidence –

(a)     to furnish such information, in such form and within such time, as the said Agent or officer may specify in the requirement; or

(b)     to produce for inspection, and to allow the taking of copies or extracts from, such invoices, bills of lading, books or documents as may be so specified; and any person who, without reasonable cause, fails to comply with a requirement under this Article shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

(8)           Where the Agent of the Impôts is satisfied that –

(a)     under the terms of any Agreement made between the Economic Community and a particular country or group of countries; or

(b)     under the provisions of any Community Regulation; provision is made for a proportion of the total quantity of particular goods (hereinafter referred to as “tariff quota goods”) imported into the Community or a member State of the Community from a particular country or group of countries to be charged customs duty at a lower rate than that which is chargeable on the like goods of the aforesaid country or group of countries under any enactment relating to duties of customs, the Agent of the Impôts may charge such lower rate of duty on such quantity of goods which, in his opinion, is entitled to the benefit of such lower rate.

(9)           The Committee may by Order make such provision as it thinks fit for regulating the import of tariff quota goods and any such Order may include the imposition of a limit either as to quantity or value on the amount of such goods as may be imported into the Bailiwick by any particular importer during a specified period and, for this purpose, the Committee may apply the provisions of the Import and Export (Control) (Jersey) Law, 1946,7 to the import of any tariff quota goods.

(10)         Paragraphs (3) and (4) of this Article shall have effect as if contained in the Customs Law.

ARTICLE 5

AGRICULTURAL LEVIES

(1)           Agricultural levies of the Economic Community, so far as they are charged on goods exported from the Bailiwick or shipped as stores, shall be paid to and recoverable by the Committee; and the Committee may by Order make such provision as it considers necessary for securing the payment and collection of any agricultural levies so charged.

(2)           The provisions of Article 24 of the Customs Law shall apply to goods subject to payment of an agricultural levy on export.

(3)           Except as otherwise provided by or under any enactment, agricultural levies of the Economic Community, so far as they are charged on goods imported into the Bailiwick, shall be levied, collected and paid, and the proceeds shall be dealt with, as if they were customs duties, and in relation to those levies the provisions of the Customs Law, and any other enactment for the time being in force and relating to customs generally shall apply as they would apply in relation to customs duties and if, in connexion with any Community arrangements for or related to the regulation of the market for any agricultural produce, any payment of refunds or allowances on goods exported or to be exported from the Bailiwick is to be made, then in relation to any such refund or allowance Articles 21 and 24 of the Customs Law8 shall apply as they apply in relation to the reliefs of customs duties on exported goods and other provisions of that Law shall have effect accordingly.

(4)           Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (4) of Article 20 of the Customs Law,9 the rate of agricultural levy chargeable on particular consignments or shipment of goods in respect of which an advance fixing certificate has been issued by the Agent of the Impôts (or other competent authority) shall be the rate shown on that certificate where the circumstances of the importation of the said goods fulfil the conditions (if any) attached to the grant of the advance fixing certificate.

(5)           In this Article “agricultural levy” includes any tax not being a customs duty, but of equivalent effect, that may be chargeable in accordance with any such Community arrangements as aforesaid.

ARTICLE 6

NON-DISCRIMINATION

(1)(a)      At the end of sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) of Article 3 of the “Loi (1937) sur les Etrangers”,10 there shall be inserted the following proviso –

“Provided that this sub-paragraph shall not apply in the case of a national of a Member State of the European Economic Community”.

(b)     At the beginning of paragraph (1) of Article 4 and of paragraph (1) of Article 5 of the said Law11 there shall be inserted the following words –

“Subject to the provisions of Article 5A of this Law”.

(c)     After Article 5 of the said Law¹¹ there shall be inserted the following Article –

“ARTICLE 5A

Nothing in Article 4 or Article 5 of this Law shall apply to a national of a Member State of the European Economic Community.”

(2)           Notwithstanding any rule of law or enactment to the contrary, it shall be lawful for a national of a Member State of the European Economic Community to inherit real or personal estate on an intestacy.

(3)           For paragraph (1) of Article 4 of the Building Loans (Jersey) Law, 1950,12 as amended,13 there shall be substituted the following paragraph –

“(1)      No loan shall be made to any person who is not a national of a Member State of the European Economic Community.”

ARTICLE 7

COMMUNITY OFFENCES

For the purpose of implementing in the Bailiwick the arrangements for the Channel Islands set out in the Treaties, a person who, in sworn evidence before the European Court, makes any statement which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true shall, whether he is a British subject or not, be guilty of an offence and may be proceeded against and punished in the Bailiwick as for the offence of perjury.

ARTICLE 8

MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS AND REPEALS

(1)           The enactments set out in Column 1 of Part I of the Second Schedule to this Law shall be amended to the extent set out in Column 2 of that Part.

(2)           The States may by Act declare that any enactment specified in Column 1 of Part II of the Second Schedule to this Law is repealed to the extent specified in Column 2 of that Part with effect from such date as shall be specified in the Act.

(3)           Any such Act may specify different dates for the repeal of different provisions to take effect or for the repeal of the same provision to take effect for different purposes and any Act specifying a date for repeal to take effect may include transitional and other supplementary provisions arising out of that repeal including provisions adapting the operation of other enactments included for repeal but not yet repealed by that Part of that Schedule and may amend or revoke any such provisions included in a previous Act.

(4)           The European Communities (Jersey) Law, 197214 is hereby repealed.

ARTICLE 9

SHORT TITLE AND COMMENCEMENT

This Law may be cited as the European Communities (Jersey) Law, 1973, and shall come into force on the first day of September, 1973.

SCHEDULES

FIRST SCHEDULE

DEFINITIONS RELATING TO COMMUNITIES

THE PRE-ACCESSION TREATIES

1.             The “E.C.S.C. Treaty”, that is to say, the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, signed at Paris on the 18th April, 1951.

2.             The “E.E.C. Treaty”, that is to say, the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, signed at Rome on the 25th March, 1957.

3.             The “Euratom Treaty”, that is to say, the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, signed at Rome on the 25th March, 1957.

4.             The Convention on certain Institutions common to the European Communities, signed at Rome on the 25th March, 1957.

5.             The Treaty establishing a single Council and a single Commission of the European Communities, signed at Brussels on the 8th April, 1965.

6.             The Treaty amending certain Budgetary Provisions of the Treaties establishing the European Communities and of the Treaty establishing a single Council and a single Commission of the European Communities, signed at Luxembourg on the 22nd April, 1970.

7.             Any treaty entered into before the 22nd January, 1972, by any of the Communities (with or without any of the member States) or, as a treaty ancillary to any treaty included in this Part of this Schedule, by the member States (with or without any other country).

SECOND SCHEDULE

(Article 8)

PART I

AMENDMENTS

 

PART II

ENACTMENTS WHICH MAY BE REPEALED BY ACTS OF THE STATES

 

Column 1.	Column 2.
Short title.	Extent of repeal.
European Free Trade Association (Jersey) Law, 1960.18	The whole Law.
Import Duties (Jersey) Law, 1932.19	Articles 3, 3A, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 52 and 53.

 

E.J.M. POTTER

 

Greffier of the States.