Jersey Law 24/1973
SHARING OF CHURCH BUILDINGS (JERSEY) LAW, 1973.
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A LAW to
provide for the sharing and using of church buildings by different Churches and
for matters connected therewith, sanctioned by Order of Her Majesty in Council
of the
24th day of OCTOBER, 1973.
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(Registered on the 23rd day of
November, 1973).
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STATES OF JERSEY.
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The 12th day of June,
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 –
“building” includes a part of a building;
“church building” means a building used or proposed to
be used by a Church or Churches to which this Law applies –
(a) as a place of worship;
(b) as a church hall or centre available wholly or mainly for activities other than
worship;
(c) as a youth club or centre or youth hostel;
(d) as a residence or
residences for ministers or lay workers :
Provided that –
(i) a
sharing agreement may provide for including any land (other than land used or
appropriated for use for burials) or outbuildings held or to be enjoyed with a
church building, and any easements or rights enjoyed or to be enjoyed with a church
building, and references to a church building shall in relation to that
agreement, be construed accordingly;
(ii) the
said expression shall not include any school;
“statutory or other legal provision” means any Law, Act
or Measure, any instrument or document made or having effect under or by virtue
of any Law, Act or Measure, any other instrument or document affecting legal
rights or obligations, any trust (whether arising under a trust instrument or
otherwise), and any rule of law, being a Law, Act, Measure, instrument,
document, trust or rule in force at the passing of this Law:
Provided that the said expression shall not include a lease or
tenancy of a church building or any mortgage, charge, covenant or rights
affecting a church building and operating for the benefit of persons other than
a Church to which this Law applies, or any general enactment regulating or
affecting the use of land.
(2) For
the purposes of this Law a church building shall be deemed to be owned by a
Church if the building is held by any body or person, whether for a freehold or
leasehold estate, for purposes of that Church or on behalf of that Church, and,
in the case of a leasehold building, any reference to the conveyance or vesting
of the building shall be construed as a reference to the conveyance or vesting
of the leasehold estate.
(3) Any
reference in this Law to any Law, Act or Measure shall be construed as a
reference to that Law, Act or Measure as amended by any subsequent Law, Act or
Measure.
ARTICLE 2
AGREEMENTS FOR SHARING CHURCH BUILDINGS
(1) It
shall be lawful, notwithstanding any statutory or other legal provision, for
any two or more Churches to which this Law applies to make agreements, through
the parties mentioned in this Article and in accordance with the provisions
thereof for the sharing by them of church buildings, and to carry such
agreements into effect, and such agreements are in this Law referred to as
“sharing agreements”.
(2) A
sharing agreement may be made in respect of a single church building or two or
more church buildings in the same locality, and in respect of any existing or
proposed church building, and may provide for the shared building or any of the
shared buildings to be owned or continue to be owned by one only of the sharing
Churches or to be jointly owned by all or some of the sharing Churches.
(3) The
parties to a sharing agreement shall –
(a) as respects the Church
of England, be the Dean of Jersey and the incumbent of the parish in which the
building or buildings is or are or will be situated;
(b) as respects any other
Church, be such persons as may be determined by the appropriate authority of
that Church;
and shall also include, in the case of an existing building, the
person (if not otherwise a party) in whom the building is vested and any
trustees thereof, and may also include, in the case of a proposed building, any
person in whom it is to be vested or who is to be a trustee thereof.
(4) A
sharing agreement shall not be made on behalf of the Church of England without
the consent of the Bishop of Winchester and the Jersey Decanal Synod, and the
appropriate authority of any other Church to which this Law applies may require
the consent of any body or person specified by the authority to be given to
sharing agreements made on behalf of that Church.
(5) Where
the See of Winchester is vacant, or the Bishop of Winchester is unable because
of illness or absence to give his consent under paragraph (4) of this Article,
the Archbishop of Canterbury may appoint by an instrument under his hand a suffragan or assistant bishop of the diocese to act in
place of the Bishop under the said paragraph for a period specified in the
instrument.
(6) A
sharing agreement shall be under seal and shall be registered, in the case of
the Church of England, in the registries of the province and diocese, and, in
the case of other Churches, in the registry or office of the appropriate
authority, and the consents required as aforesaid shall be signified in writing
by the secretary or clerk of the body concerned or by the person concerned and
shall be registered with the deed.
(7) A
sharing agreement shall be binding on the successors to the parties thereto,
that is to say, on the persons who would at any subsequent time be required to
be parties if the agreement were then being made, and any reference in this Law
to the parties to a sharing agreement shall be construed, as respects anything
done at a subsequent time, as referring to the said persons.
(8) A
sharing agreement may be amended by agreement of the parties thereto and with
the consents that would then be required to a new sharing agreement.
ARTICLE 3
TRUSTS OF SHARED CHURCH BUILDINGS
(1) Where
a sharing agreement is made with respect to an existing or proposed church
building which is to be owned or continue to be owned by one only of the
sharing Churches, the trusts or purposes on or for which the building is held
or to be held shall include the purposes and provisions of the agreement, as
for the time being in force, and any instrument declaring those trusts and
purposes shall be deemed to have effect, or (in the case of a proposed
building) shall provide, accordingly.
(2) Where
a sharing agreement is made with respect to an existing or proposed church
building which is to be owned jointly by all or some of the sharing Churches,
that ownership shall be effected by vesting the building in trustees
representing those Churches to be held on trust to be used for the purposes of
the sharing agreement and in accordance with its terms and, subject thereto,
for such other charitable purposes of the sharing Churches as may be
appropriate, and the trust instrument relating to the building shall provide
accordingly.
(3) The
provisions of this Article are in addition to and not in derogation of the
provisions of the Loi (1862) sur
les teneures en fidéicommis
et l’incorporation d’associations.
ARTICLE 4
FINANCIAL AND MANAGEMENT PROVISIONS
(1) A
sharing agreement shall make provision with respect to the financial and other
obligations of the parties thereto in respect of the provision, improvement and
management of the church building or buildings shared or to be shared under the
agreement, and the powers of any body or person under any statutory or other
legal provision to apply money, whether by grant or loan, in respect of the
provision, improvement or management of church buildings of a Church to which
this Law applies shall be applicable in like manner in respect of any church
building shared or to be shared by that Church under a sharing agreement.
(2) The
powers of any body or person under any statutory or other legal provision
–
(a) to acquire, hold,
improve or manage church buildings of a Church to which this Law applies, or
any property to be used for or in connexion with the
provision of such church buildings, or
(b) to grant property for
or in connexion with the provision of such church
buildings, whether for a full consideration or for less than a full
consideration,
shall be applicable in like manner in respect of any church
building to which a sharing agreement relates and which, under the agreement,
is or is to be owned by that Church or jointly owned by that Church and any
other Church or Churches, and any such power to hold church buildings shall
include a power to be a trustee (representing that Church) of such a jointly
owned church building.
(3) The
responsibility for the management of a church building owned by one only of the
sharing Churches under a sharing agreement and of its contents shall remain
with the authorities of or trustees representing that Church, but that
responsibility shall be discharged in accordance with the provisions of the
agreement and any arrangements made thereunder, including provisions or
arrangements for consultation with any other sharing Church and for the payment
of contributions by any other sharing Church towards the expenses of
management.
(4) Where
a sharing agreement provides for the joint ownership of the shared building by
all or some of the sharing Churches, the responsibility of the trustees for the
management of the building shall be in place of any responsibility of the
authorities of the sharing Churches as respects that building, including
responsibility under any statutory or other legal provision:
Provided that –
(a) the trustees shall
discharge that responsibility in accordance with the provisions of the sharing
agreement and any arrangements made thereunder, including provisions or
arrangements for consultation with any sharing Church which is not a joint
owner and for the payment of contributions by the sharing Churches towards the
expenses of management;
(b) the agreement may
provide that any moveables required for the worship
of any sharing Church shall be the responsibility of the authorities of that
Church.
(5) In
this Article, “management”, in relation to a church building,
includes the repair and furnishing of the building.
ARTICLE 5
SHARING OF CHURCH BUILDINGS FOR PURPOSES OF WORSHIP
(1) A
sharing agreement shall make provision, in the case of a building used as a
place of worship, for determining the extent to which it is to be available for
worship in accordance with the forms of service and practice of the sharing
Churches respectively, and may provide for the holding of such joint services
on such occasions as may be approved by those Churches, and may dispense, to
such extent as may be necessary, with the requirement to hold certain services
of the Church of England on Sundays and other days.
(2) Notwithstanding
any statutory or other legal provision, a minister, reader or lay preacher of
one of the Churches sharing a church building under a sharing agreement may, by
invitation of a minister, reader or lay preacher of another such Church, take
part in conducting worship in that building in accordance with the forms of
service and practice of that other Church; but the rights given by this
paragraph shall be exercised in accordance with any rules or directions given
by either Church and to any limitation imposed by or under the sharing
agreement.
(3) Subject
to the foregoing provisions of this Article, the participation of the
communities of the sharing Churches in each other’s worship shall be
governed by the practices and disciplines of those Churches in like manner as
if they worshipped in separate buildings.
ARTICLE 6
TERMINATION OF SHARING
(1) A
sharing agreement shall contain provisions for terminating the sharing of the
church building or buildings, and such provisions may –
(a) if the agreement
relates to two or more buildings, provide for terminating the sharing of any
building before the others; and
(b) if there are two or
more sharing Churches, provide for the withdrawal of any Church from the
sharing of any church building, not being a Church which is the sole owner or
previous owner of the building;
and the sharing agreement may make provision for financial
adjustments as between the Churches, on such termination or withdrawal, by
payments out of moneys held for the purposes of the sharing agreement or of any
shared building or by other payments by one Church to another.
(2) On
the termination of the sharing of a church building owned by one only of the
sharing Churches, the building shall be held on the trusts or for the purposes
on or for which it was held before the sharing agreement or would be held but
for the sharing agreement.
(3) On
the termination of the sharing of a church building jointly owned by all or
some of the sharing Churches, being a building which before the sharing
agreement was owned by one only of those Churches, the building shall, without
any conveyance or other assurance, vest in such of the trustees in whom the
building is vested as represent the Church who previously owned the building
and it shall be held and managed on the trusts or for the same purposes as
before, as nearly as may be.
(4) Where
the sharing of a church building jointly owned as aforesaid but not previously
owned by one only of the sharing Churches is terminated, the sharing agreement
and the trust instrument may provide for the disposal of the building
(including disposal to one of the sharing Churches) and for the application of
the proceeds to charitable purposes of the sharing Churches.
ARTICLE 7
CHURCHES TO WHICH THIS LAW APPLIES, AND APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES
THEREOF
(1) The
Churches to which this Law applies are the Churches specified in the first
column of the Schedule to this Law, the Church of England and all other
Churches who give notice under paragraph (3) of this Article.
(2) The
expression “appropriate authority”, in relation to each of the
Churches specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Law, means the
authority specified in the second column of that Schedule in respect of that
Church, and if different authorities are specified in relation to different
provisions of this Law, means in each such provision the authority specified in
relation thereto.
(3) Any
Church for the time being represented on the General Council of the British
Council of Churches or on the governing body of the Evangelical Alliance or the
British Evangelical Council may give notice in writing to the General Secretary
of the British Council of Churches, or as the case may be, of the governing
body concerned, and to the Secretary of the Jersey Council of Churches that it
desires that this Law should apply to that Church, and the notice shall specify
the appropriate authority or authorities of that Church for the purposes of
this Law, and the General Secretary concerned shall publish in the Jersey
Gazette a notice signed by him –
(a) stating that the Church
concerned is represented on the said General Council or governing body and has
expressed its desire that this Law should apply to that Church;
(b) stating that this Law
will apply to that Church as from the date of publication of the notice; and
(c) specifying the
appropriate authority or authorities of that Church for the purposes of this
Law;
and thereupon this Law shall apply to that Church as from that date
and shall have effect as if an entry in respect of that Church and the
appropriate authority or authorities so specified were made in the Schedule
thereto.
ARTICLE 8
SAVING FOR TEMPORARY LOANS OF CHURCH BUILDINGS
Nothing in this Law shall be taken as affecting any practice of a
church to which this Law applies of lending church buildings temporarily for
particular occasions to other religious bodies.
ARTICLE 9
SHORT TITLE
This Law may be cited as the Sharing of Church Buildings (Jersey)
Law, 1973.
SCHEDULE
CHURCHES AND THEIR APPROPRIATE
AUTHORITIES
Name of Church
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Appropriate
Authority or Authorities
|
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Any Church of the Baptist
Denomination
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As respects
Article 2(3) and (4), the Baptist Trust Corporation as here-inafter defined, acting with the concurrence of the
Church meeting.
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As respects
Article 2(6), the Baptist Trust Corporation.
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Any Church of the
Congregational Denomination.
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As respects
Article 2(3) and (4), the Congregational Trust Corporation as hereinafter
defined, acting with the concurrence of the Church meeting.
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As respects
Article 2(6), the Congregational Trust Corporation.
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Any
Congregation of the Association of Churches of Christ in Great Britain and
Ireland.
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As respects
Article 2(3) and (4), the Annual Conference of the Association of Churches of
Christ acting with the concurrence of the duly constituted Church meeting.
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As respects
Article 2(6), the Annual Conference of the Association of Churches of Christ.
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The Methodist Church.
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The Annual
Conference of the Methodist Church.
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The Presbyterian Church of
England.
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The
Presbytery in whose bounds the church building or buildings is or are or will
be situated.
|
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The Roman Catholic Church.
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The Bishop
of the diocese in which the church building or buildings is or are or will be
situated.
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|
|
|
|
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For the purposes of this Schedule, “the Baptist Trust
Corporation” and “the Congregational Trust Corporation” have
the following meanings –
(a) if the church building
or buildings to which the sharing agreement concerned relates is or are or will
be vested in a Baptist or Congregational Trust Corporation within the meaning
of the Baptist and Congregational Trusts Act 1951, it means that Corporation;
(b) otherwise it means the
Baptist or Congregational Trust Corporation (within the meaning of the said
Act) in whose area of operations the church building or buildings is or are or
will be situated, or if there is more than one such Corporation, the one
determined by the Church meeting.
R.S. GRAY,
Deputy Greffier of the States.