Royal Court
(Jersey) Law 1948
A LAW to
modify the constitution of the Royal Court
Commencement
[see endnotes]
PART
1
THE JURATSHIP
1 Appointment
of Jurats
Jurats shall be appointed by an Electoral College in the manner
provided by this Law.
2 Qualifications
for the office of Jurat
(1) A person shall, unless
disqualified under the provisions of this Law or of any other enactment, be
qualified to be appointed Jurat if the person has attained the age of 40 years
and is a British subject and –
(a) was
born in Jersey; or
(b) has
during the 5 years preceding the day of appointment been ordinarily resident in
Jersey.
(2) [1]
3 Disqualifications
for the office of Jurat
Subject to the provisions of this Article, a person shall be
disqualified for being appointed Jurat if –
(a) the person holds any
paid office or other place of profit under the Crown or the States or any
administration of the States;
(b) the person is a paid
officer of any parochial authority;
(c) under Part 4 of
the Capacity and
Self-Determination (Jersey) Law 2016, a delegate is appointed in
relation to that person;
(d) the person has an
attorney without whom he or she may not act in matters real or personal;
(e) an application made by
the person to the Royal Court to place his or her property under the control of
the Court (de remettre ses biens entre les mains de
la Justice) has been granted;
(f) the
person’s property has been declared en
désastre;
(g) an application made by
the person to the Royal Court to make a general cession of his or her property
(de faire cession générale de tous ses
biens-meubles et héritages) has been granted;
(h) the person’s
property has been adjudged by the Royal Court to be renounced (adjugée renoncée);
(i) the person has
made a composition or arrangement with his or her creditors;
(j)
(k) the person has, within
the 7 years immediately preceding the day of his or her appointment, been
convicted anywhere in the British Commonwealth of any offence and ordered to be
imprisoned for a period of not less than 3 months without the option of a fine;
(l) the person is the
holder in his or her own name of a licence for the sale and consumption of
spirituous liquors granted by the Assembly of Governor, Bailiff and Jurats, or
is in the employment of any person to whom any such licence has been granted by
the said Assembly;
(m) the person is conducting in
Jersey the business of a brewer or is in the employment of any person by whom
the business of a brewer is conducted in Jersey:
Provided that –
(i) the
disqualifications attaching to a person for any of the reasons set out in
sub-paragraph (e), (f), (g) or (h) shall cease if the proceedings are
concluded by reason that the person has paid his or her debts in full or, if on
the conclusion of the proceedings the person has not paid his or her debts in
full, on the expiration of 5 years from the date of the conclusion of the
proceedings,
(ii) the
disqualification attaching to a person for the reason set out in sub-paragraph (i)
shall cease, if the person pays his or her debts in full, on the date on which
the payment is completed, or, in any other case, on the expiration of 5 years
from the date on which the terms of the composition or arrangement are
fulfilled.[2]
4 Appointment
of Jurats[3]
(1) There shall be an
Electoral College for the purpose of the appointment of Jurats.
(2) The Electoral College
shall consist of –
(a) the
Bailiff, who shall be its president;
(b) the
Jurats;
(c) the
Connétables of the 12 parishes of Jersey;
(d) the
elected members of the States;
(e) members
of the Jersey Bar, who have renewed their oath of Advocate within the 13 months
preceding the meeting of the Electoral College; and
(f) Solicitors
(Ecrivains)
of the Royal Court:
Provided that a member of the Bar or a Solicitor shall cease to be a
member of the Electoral College from the day upon which he or she is appointed
as Viscount, Judicial Greffier or Greffier of the States:
Provided also that a Solicitor shall cease to be a member of the
Electoral College from the day upon which there has been lodged with the
Bailiff a certificate signed by the President and the Secretary of the Chambre
des Ecrivains to the effect that such Solicitor has ceased, for any reason
whatsoever, to practise or to be legally entitled to practise as a Solicitor of
the Royal Court.[4]
(3) The Lieutenant-Governor,
the Dean, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General shall be members of
the Electoral College but, as such, shall not be entitled to vote nor to
propose or second a candidate for appointment as Jurat.
(4) The Viscount, the
Judicial Greffier and the Greffier of the States jointly shall at all times
maintain a register of the names and addresses of the members for the time
being of the Electoral College, and a copy of such register, signed by the
Viscount, the Judicial Greffier and the Greffier of the States, shall at all
times be exhibited in the vestibule of the Royal Court House.
(5) Subject to the
following provisions of this Article, a person shall be appointed to the office
of Jurat –
(a) where
the person’s nomination to that office is proposed by one member, and seconded by
another member, of the Electoral College, in the form set out in Schedule 1;
and
(b) if
there are more candidates duly nominated than there are vacancies to be filled,
where the person is
elected to that office by the Electoral College.
(6) Within 28 days after
the day on which it comes to the notice of the Bailiff that a vacancy has
occurred from any cause whatsoever, among the Jurats, the Bailiff shall give
notice of the vacancy to the members for the time being of the Electoral
College.[5]
(7) Notice of a vacancy
among the Jurats shall, on the written instructions of the Bailiff, be
delivered by the Viscount to every member for the time being of the Electoral
College and such notice shall specify the latest date (being a date not less
than 10 days, and not more than 14 days, from the date of the notice, as may be
specified therein) by which nominations of candidates for the vacancy are to be
received by the Bailiff.
(8) Where there are only as
many candidates nominated as there are vacancies to be filled, the person or
persons so nominated shall be duly appointed to the office of Jurat and the
Bailiff shall take the necessary steps for such person or persons to take the
oath of office of Jurat in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (25).
(9) Where there are more
candidates duly nominated than there are vacancies to be filled, the Bailiff
shall summon a meeting of the Electoral College for a day not later than the
14th day after the last day for the receipt of nominations.
(10) A summons to attend a meeting
of the Electoral College shall, on the written instructions of the Bailiff, be
delivered by the Viscount to every member for the time being of the Electoral
College, 4 days at least before the day for which the meeting is summoned.
(11) The summons shall contain
particulars of –
(a) the
day upon which, and the hour and place at which, the meeting is to be held;
(b) the
purpose for which the meeting is being summoned; and
(c) the
particulars relating to the candidates nominated as set out in the forms of
nomination, together with the names of their proposers and seconders.
(12) Subject to the provisions of
paragraph (19), every member of the Electoral College shall be entitled to
address the meeting.
(13) The meeting shall be held in
public.[6]
(14) One or more secret ballots
shall be held for each vacancy in accordance with the procedure described in
this Article until a candidate has more than half of the votes cast in a ballot
or more than half of the votes following a vote by the Bailiff as described in
paragraph (18C).[7]
(15) Each member of the Electoral
College shall have one vote in each ballot.[8]
(16) The Bailiff shall not vote
other than in the circumstances described in paragraphs (18B) and (18C).[9]
(17) The Bailiff shall examine the
voting papers following each ballot and shall forthwith, in the presence of the
members of the Electoral College and of the public present at the meeting,
declare the result of each ballot.[10]
(18) If no candidate receives more
than half the votes cast in any ballot and the result of that ballot is
that –
(a) there
is a single candidate with the fewest votes, the procedure in paragraph (18A)
shall be followed;
(b) there
are 2 or more candidates with equally the fewest votes and at least one other
candidate, the procedure in paragraph (18B) shall be followed; or
(c) there
are only 2 candidates and they have equal numbers of votes, the procedure
in paragraph (18C) shall be followed.[11]
(18A) The procedure referred to in paragraph (18)(a)
is that the single candidate with the fewest votes shall withdraw from the
election and a further ballot shall be held for the remaining candidates.[12]
(18B) The procedure referred to in paragraph (18)(b)
is that a further ballot shall be held for the 2 or more candidates with
equally the fewest votes, following which –
(a) if
there is a single candidate with the fewest votes, that candidate shall
withdraw from the election and a further ballot shall be held for all the
remaining candidates in the election;
(b) if
there are 2 candidates with equally the fewest votes –
(i) the Bailiff shall
vote for one of those candidates,
(ii) the
other candidate shall withdraw from the election, and
(iii) a
further ballot shall be held for all the remaining candidates in the election;
or
(c) if
there are more than 2 candidates with equally the fewest votes, a further
ballot shall be held for those candidates only, and –
(i) if that ballot
results in a single candidate with the fewest votes, that candidate shall
withdraw from the election, or
(ii) if
that ballot results in 2 or more candidates with equally the fewest votes, the
Bailiff shall vote for one of the candidates and the other of those candidates
with equally the fewest votes shall withdraw from the election,
and a further ballot shall be held for all the remaining candidates
in the election.[13]
(18C) The procedure referred to in paragraph (18)(c)
is that –
(a) a
further ballot must be held; and
(b) if
the further ballot results in the 2 candidates again having an equal
number of votes, the Bailiff shall vote for one of those candidates.[14]
(18D)When a candidate has
received more than half of the votes cast in a ballot (other than a ballot for
only 2 or more candidates with equally the fewest votes) or following the Bailiff’s
vote as described in paragraph (18C), the Bailiff shall declare that
candidate elected to the office of Jurat.[15]
(19) No business
other than the election of a Jurat or of Jurats shall, under any pretext
whatsoever, be conducted at a meeting of the Electoral College.
(20) The quorum of the Electoral
College shall be 40.
(21) If, 20 minutes after the
time for which the meeting has been summoned, there is no quorum, the Bailiff
shall adjourn the meeting for not more than 10 days.
(22) The Viscount shall, on the
written instructions of the Bailiff, serve upon every member for the time being
of the Electoral College (whether or not the member was present at the first
meeting) a new summons which shall, mutatis mutandis,
contain particulars similar to those required by paragraph (11) to be
contained in a summons and shall be served in the manner prescribed by that
paragraph.
(23) The members of the Electoral
College, being duly assembled in adjourned meeting, shall proceed with the
election of a Jurat or Jurats, whether a quorum be present or not, but, in all
other respects, shall proceed in accordance with the foregoing provisions of
this Article.
(24) The Greffier of the States
shall attend meetings of the Electoral College, shall act as its Clerk and shall
record its proceedings.
(25) The Viscount shall, on the
instructions of the Bailiff, warn the candidate or candidates appointed to the
office of Jurat to attend before the Royal Court of Jersey, for the purpose of
taking oath of office of Jurat, on the day appointed for the purpose by the
Bailiff, which day, however, shall not be less than 4, nor more than 10, days
after the date of the Jurat’s appointment:
Provided that if a candidate appointed to the office of Jurat is
prevented by illness from attending before the Royal Court for the purpose of
taking oath of office of Jurat on the day appointed for the purpose by the
Bailiff, such candidate shall be permitted to take oath on such later date as
may be appointed for the purpose by the Superior Number of the Royal Court.
(26) Every notice and summons to
be delivered in pursuance of this Article shall be deemed to have been duly
delivered if it has been delivered by hand at, or addressed through the post
to, the address contained in the register mentioned in paragraph (4) as
being the address of the person to whom it is to be so delivered or addressed.
5 [16]
6 Contested
appointments
(1) Any person who contests
the validity of the appointment of a Jurat by the Electoral College may present
a Remonstrance to the Superior Number of the Royal Court and shall, at the same
time, declare on oath that, to the best of the person’s knowledge,
information and belief, the allegations contained in the Remonstrance are true.
(2) The case shall be heard
with all possible expedition, either in term or in vacation.
(3) The Royal Court shall,
on the motion of the Attorney General, declare null and void the appointment of
a Jurat by the Electoral College –
(a) if
the person appointed is disqualified for appointment under the provisions of
this Law;
(b) if
the person appointed is found by the Court to have made, directly or
indirectly, any gift, promise or threat, in order to induce any one or more of
the members of the Electoral College to vote in the person’s favour or to
refrain from voting in favour of any other candidate; or
(c) if
the formalities prescribed by this Law for the convening of the meeting of the
Electoral College, or for the conduct thereof, have not been duly carried out:
Provided that the Court, if it is satisfied that the meeting was
convened and conducted in accordance with the spirit and intention of this Law
and that the fortuitous omission of some of the formalities did not affect the
decision of the meeting, shall confirm the appointment made at the meeting.
7 Oath
of Jurat
(1) Every Jurat appointed
by the Electoral College shall, before he or she enters upon the discharge of
the Jurat’s duties, take, on the motion of the Attorney General, oath of
office before the Superior Number of the Royal Court in accordance with the
form of oath set out in Schedule 2.
(2) If a Jurat so appointed
fails or refuses to take oath of office, the Court shall, on the motion of the
Attorney General, declare the appointment null and void.
8 Void
appointments[17]
If the appointment of a Jurat is declared null and void by the
Superior Number of the Royal Court under the provisions of Article 6 or 7,
the Bailiff shall immediately take the necessary steps with a view to the
appointment of a Jurat in place of the Jurat whose appointment has been
declared null and void as aforesaid.
9 Retirement
and resignation of Jurats[18]
(1) Subject to this Article
a Jurat ceases to hold office on attaining the age of 72.
(2) A Jurat may indicate an
intention to retire before that age by giving not less than
6 months’ notice to the Bailiff, or any other person nominated by
the Bailiff, provided that at the end of that period of 6 months the Jurat
will have completed 6 years’ service.
(3) The Bailiff may permit
the retirement of up to 2 Jurats in any year following an indication of
intention to retire under paragraph (2).
(4) However –
(a) the
number permitted to retire is reduced by the number of Jurats otherwise ceasing
to hold office in that year (to a maximum of 2);
(b) if
more Jurats than the number permitted under this Article have indicated an
intention to retire in any one year, the length of service will determine who
may retire under this Article.
(5) A Jurat may be required
by the Court to resign –
(a) if
for a continuous period of 12 months the Jurat fails, without good reason,
to discharge the duties of the office; or
(b) if,
in the opinion of the Court, the Jurat is permanently unable for any reason
efficiently to carry out the duties of the office.
(6) A Jurat who is
permitted to retire or required to resign under this Article must present to
the Bailiff, for transmission to His Majesty in Council, a petition praying
that His Majesty in Council may be pleased to permit the Jurat to retire, or
resign from, the office of Jurat.[19]
(7) If a Jurat required to
resign under paragraph (5) has not within a reasonable time presented a
petition as required by paragraph (6), the Jurat is removable by Order of His
Majesty in Council on the petition of the Superior Number of the Royal Court.[20]
(8) The retirement or
resignation of a Jurat under this Article triggers a vacancy in the number of
Jurats for the purposes of Article 4.
9AA Appointment to
serve as a Jurat after retirement[21]
(1) Despite Article 1,
a Jurat who has ceased to hold office or retired under Article 9 (other
than by being required to resign under paragraph (5) of that Article) and
who has not attained the age of 75 years may be called upon to serve as a
Jurat for any period or in relation to any cause or matter as the Bailiff may
determine.
(2) A person serving as a
Jurat under paragraph (1) is not included in the total of 12 Jurats
that may be appointed under customary law.
(3) An oath under
Article 7 taken by a person before being called to serve under this
Article continues to be binding on the person for the duration of that service.
9A Appointment
of Guernsey Jurats to act as Jurats in Jersey [22]
(1) Notwithstanding
Articles 1 and 2(1), the Bailiff may appoint one or more Jurats of the
Guernsey Royal Court to act as a Jurat for the purpose of such particular cause
or matter as the Bailiff may determine.
(2) The Bailiff may make an
appointment under paragraph (1) only after consulting the Bailiff of
Guernsey.
(3) A person appointed
under paragraph (1) shall –
(a) subject
to paragraph (4), before discharging his or her duties in relation to the
cause or matter in respect of which he or she was appointed, take, on the
motion of the Attorney General, oath of office before the Superior Number of
the Royal Court, such oath being –
(i) substantially in
the same form as that taken by a Jurat under Article 7, and
(ii) specified
in Rules of Court under Article 13; and
(b) upon
discharging such duties, cease to hold office forthwith.
(4) A person appointed
under paragraph (1) shall not be required to take such oath if he or she
has been previously appointed under that paragraph.
(5) A person appointed
under paragraph (1) shall have all the powers of a Jurat for the purpose
of discharging the duties in relation to the cause or matter in respect of
which he or she was appointed.
PART 2[23]
COMMISSIONERS
10 Appointment
of Commissioners[24]
(1) The Bailiff may from
time to time appoint qualified persons, to be known as Commissioners, to
preside over the Royal Court.
(2) No person shall be
qualified to be appointed a Commissioner unless the person –
(a) holds
or has held judicial office in the Commonwealth;
(b) has
been at least 10 years in practice –
(i) at the Bar, or
(ii) as
a Solicitor (Ecrivain)
of the Royal Court,
in Jersey, whether as a Law Officer of the Crown or otherwise; or
(c) has
been at least 10 years in practice at the Bar in England and Wales, Scotland,
Northern Ireland, Guernsey or the Isle of Man.
(3) An appointment under
paragraph (1) may be made for the purposes of the hearing of such civil,
criminal or mixed causes or matters as the Bailiff thinks fit and may be made
for –
(a) the
hearing of a particular cause or matter; or
(b) a
specified term.
(4) Where an appointment
under paragraph (1) is made for the hearing of a particular cause or
matter, such appointment shall continue for the duration of the hearing of that
cause or matter.
(5) Where the appointment
is made for a term, the term shall be specified in the instrument of
appointment.[25]
(6) In the case of a
Commissioner appointed for a term, the Bailiff –
(a) may,
with the agreement of the Commissioner, extend the term for such period as the
Bailiff thinks appropriate; and
(b) may
from time to time authorize or require the Commissioner to exercise, whether
for the purposes of this Law or for any other purposes, such other judicial
functions of the Bailiff as the Bailiff specifies.[26]
(7) Notwithstanding the
other provisions of this Article, the Bailiff may, if the Bailiff thinks fit,
terminate the appointment of a Commissioner on the ground of incapacity or
misbehaviour.[27]
(8) Commissioners shall
receive such remuneration as may be determined, after consultation with the
Bailiff, by the Minister for Treasury and Resources, and shall be entitled to
reimbursement of all travelling and other expenses incurred by them in the
discharge of their functions under this Article.[28]
(9) Monies payable under
paragraph (8) shall be defrayed out of the annual income of the States.
(10) [29]
11 Oath
of Commissioner[30]
(1) Every Commissioner
appointed by the Bailiff shall, before the Commissioner enters upon the
discharge of his or her duties, take, on the motion of the Attorney General,
oath of office before the Superior Number of the Royal Court in accordance with
the form of oath set out in Schedule 2.
(2) If a Commissioner so
appointed fails or refuses to take oath of office, the Court shall, on the
motion of the Attorney General, declare the appointment null and void.
12 Powers
of Commissioners[31]
(1) Where a Commissioner
presides over the Royal Court the powers of the Bailiff specified in Article 15
shall be exercised by that Commissioner.
(2) A Commissioner
appointed by the Bailiff for a specified term may exercise, whether for the
purposes of this Law or for any other purposes, such other judicial functions
of the Bailiff as the Bailiff may from time to time authorize or require.
PART 3
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
13 Rules
of Court
(1) For the purposes of all
civil causes and matters, Rules of Court may be made by the Superior Number of
the Royal Court, with the advice and assistance of the Rules
Committee –
(a) for
regulating and prescribing the procedure (including the method of pleading) and
the practice to be followed in the Royal Court (including the procedure and
practice to be followed in the Departments of the Viscount and of the Judicial
Greffier) and any matters incidental to or relating to any such procedure or
practice, including (but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing)
the manner in which, and the time within which, any applications which under
this Law or any enactment are to be made to the Royal Court shall be made;
(b) for
distributing among the divisions of the Royal Court business in or with respect
to which the Royal Court has for the time being jurisdiction and for transferring
to another division any business of a division or any jurisdiction vested in a
division by any enactment in respect of any business, and for making such
incidental or transitional provision as may be necessary or expedient in
consequence of any such distribution or transfer;
(c) for
regulating and prescribing the procedure on appeals from any court to the Royal
Court;
(d) for
regulating the sittings of the Royal Court, whether sitting in court or in
chambers;
(e) for
prescribing what part of the non-contentious business of the Royal Court may be
transacted in chambers, either before the Bailiff alone, or before the Bailiff
and Jurats, or before the Judicial Greffier, and, in respect of the business to
be transacted before the Bailiff and Jurats in chambers, for prescribing the
number of Jurats whose presence shall be requisite;
(f) for
regulating any matters relating to costs of proceedings in the Royal Court;
(g) for
regulating the means by which particular facts may be proved, and the mode in
which evidence thereof may be given, in any proceedings or on any application
in connection with or at any stage of any proceedings;
(h) for
taxing costs in any cause or matter in the Royal Court or in any proceedings
preliminary or incidental to any such cause or matter;
(i) for
regulating the optional use of the English language in all causes and matters
whatsoever in the Royal Court and in any proceedings preliminary or incidental
to any such cause or matter;
(j) for
amending or repealing any enactments which relate to matters with respect to
which rules are made under this Article;
(k) for
regulating or making provision with respect to any other matters which may
require to be regulated or with respect to which provision may require to be
made under this Law;
(l) for
abolishing any functions of a prévôt or a sergent;
(m) for the
carrying out of any functions of a prévôt or a sergent by
such persons or by such means as may be specified in the rules;
(n) for
regulating and prescribing in relation to the Petty Debts Court any matters
which may be regulated and prescribed under this Article (other than
sub-paragraph (c)) in relation to the Royal Court:
Provided that in the application of sub-paragraph (e), in rules
made under this sub-paragraph, the reference to the Bailiff alone and to the
Bailiff and Jurats shall be construed as a reference to the Magistrate;
(o) in
relation to the collection of fines and other penalties imposed by any court
and the disposal of forfeitures.[32]
(2) Rules of Court made
under this Article shall apply to all civil proceedings by or against the
Crown.[33]
(3) [34]
(4) For the purpose of
advising and assisting the Superior Number of the Royal Court in the making of
rules, there shall be a Committee (in this Article referred to as the
“Rules Committee”) composed of 2 advocates appointed by the Jersey
Bar and of 2 Solicitors (Ecrivains) appointed
by the Chambre des Ecrivains.
(5) The term of office of
any person who is a member of the Rules Committee shall be such as may be
specified in the appointment.
(6) For the avoidance of
doubt, it is declared that the Attorney General, Viscount, Solicitor General
and the Judicial Greffier shall be summoned to attend every sitting of the
Superior Number of the Royal Court at which it is proposed to make or consider
the making of Rules of Court under this Article.
14 Family
division[35]
(1) The Matrimonial Causes
Division constituted under Article 3 of the Matrimonial Causes (Jersey) Law 1949, shall be known as the
Family Division.
(2) Any reference in an
enactment or document to the Matrimonial Causes Division shall, so far as may
be necessary to preserve the effect of the enactment or document, be construed
as a reference to the Family Division.
15 Powers
of the Bailiff and Jurats
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (1AA),
in all causes and matters, civil, criminal and mixed, the Bailiff shall be the
sole judge of law and shall award the costs, if any.[36]
(1AA) Where Article 15A(2)
applies, the Bailiff shall also be a judge of fact.[37]
(1A) For the purposes of this Law, a
question of procedure is one of law.[38]
(2) In all causes and
matters, civil, criminal and mixed, other than criminal causes tried before the
Criminal Assizes, in which causes the jury shall, as heretofore, find the
verdict, the Jurats shall, subject to Article 17(2), be the sole judges of
fact and shall assess the damages, if any.[39]
(3) In all criminal and
mixed causes, the Jurats shall determine the sentence, fine or other sanction
to be pronounced or imposed.
(4) In all causes and
matters, civil, criminal or mixed, the Bailiff shall have a casting vote
whenever the Jurats –
(a) being
2 in number, are divided in opinion as to the facts or as to the damages to be
awarded or as to the sentence, fine or other sanction to be pronounced or
imposed; or
(b) being
more than 2 in number, are so divided in opinion with respect to any one or
more of the matters specified in sub-paragraph (a) that the giving of a
casting vote is necessary for the finding of a majority opinion.
15A Quorum of the
Inferior number[40]
(1) Subject to
paragraph (2), the Inferior Number of the Royal Court shall be composed
only of the Bailiff and 2 Jurats.
(2) If, in a criminal cause
one of the Jurats dies or is otherwise indisposed, for the purposes of hearing
and determining that particular cause, the Inferior Number of the Royal Court
shall be composed only of the Bailiff and one Jurat.
16 Quorum
of the Superior Number[41]
(1) Subject to paragraph (2),
the Superior Number of the Royal Court shall for all purposes, criminal or
civil, be duly constituted only if it consists of the Bailiff and not less than
5 Jurats.
(2) Paragraph (1) is
without prejudice to the provisions of –
(a) Article 49 of the Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law 2018;
and
(b) Article 23
of the Court of Appeal (Jersey)
Law 1961.[42]
17 Bailiff
as sole judge[43]
(1) Any cause or matter in
which only issues of law arise may be determined by the Bailiff sitting alone.
(2) Any civil cause or
matter –
(a) in
which issues of law and fact arise; and
(b) in
which –
(i) the parties to
the proceedings have applied to the Judicial Greffier for certification that
the cause or matter is suitable for trial by the Bailiff alone, and
(ii) the
Judicial Greffier has granted such certification,
may, if the Bailiff thinks fit, be determined by the Bailiff sitting
alone.
(3) The Judicial Greffier
shall not grant a certificate under paragraph (2)(b) unless the Judicial
Greffier is of the opinion that the issues raised are predominantly issues of
law.
18 References
to the Superior Number of the Royal Court
Whenever it deems it proper so to do, the Inferior Number of the
Royal Court may, in exercise of its inherent jurisdiction, or of any power
conferred upon the Court by any enactment, whether made before or after the
coming into force of this Law, refer to the Superior Number of the Royal Court
any cause or matter, civil, criminal or mixed, and, upon any such
reference –
(a) the respective powers
of the Bailiff and Jurats shall be exercised in the manner prescribed by
Article 15; and
(b) the Superior Number of
the Royal Court shall be deemed to be exercising original jurisdiction.
19 Registration
of Orders, Warrants and Letters
Notwithstanding anything in this Law contained, the Jurats of the
Royal Court shall remain judges as to whether any Order, Warrant or Letter
should, under the provisions of the Order of His Majesty in Council of the 21st
day of May 1679, and registered by the States on the 3rd day of
July 1679,[44] be registered or as to
whether the matter is one in which it would be proper, under the provisions of
the said Order of His Majesty in Council, to suspend registration:
Provided that the Bailiff shall have a casting vote if the
Jurats –
(a) being 2 in number, are
divided in opinion; or
(b) being more than 2 in
number, are so divided that the giving of a casting vote is necessary for the
finding of a majority opinion.
PART 4
GENERAL
20 Temporary
substitution of office holders
If the office of –
(a) Bailiff;
(b) Attorney General;
(c) Viscount;
(d) Solicitor General;
(e) Judicial Greffier; or
(f) Greffier of the
States,
be vacant, or if the holder of any such office be prevented by
absence from Jersey, illness, or any other lawful cause, from performing the
duties of the office, then the duties under this Law of the holder of such
office shall be performed by the person who is for the time being discharging
the duties of such office.
21 Saving
of assembly of Governor, Bailiff and Jurats
Nothing in this Law shall affect the constitution or the
jurisdiction of the Assembly of Governor, Bailiff and Jurats.
21A Savings and
transitional provision[45]
(1) Articles 10(6) and
(7) and 12, as substituted by the Royal Court (Amendment No. 11) (Jersey)
Law 2005, shall, in addition to their application in relation to any
Commissioner appointed under Article 10 after the time when that Law comes
into force, also apply in relation to any Commissioner appointed under Article 10
before that time whose appointment is still in force at that time.
(2) Except as provided in
this Article, the amendments made to this Law by the Royal Court (Amendment
No. 11) (Jersey) Law 2005 shall not affect the terms of any appointment
under Article 10 still in force at the time when the latter Law comes into
force or the functions of any Commissioner appointed under that Article before
that time.
(3) Article 15(1A), as
inserted by the Royal Court (Amendment No. 11) (Jersey) Law 2005, shall,
from the time when that Law comes into force, apply to any proceedings that
commence or continue after that time.
(4) The amendment of this
Law by the Royal Court (Amendment No. 11) (Jersey) Law 2005 shall not
invalidate any proceedings that have commenced, but not been concluded, at the
time when the latter Law comes into force, or anything done before that time in
respect of any proceedings.
22 Citation
This Law may be cited as the Royal Court (Jersey) Law 1948.