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The Courts of Jersey

The Courts of Jersey are responsible for the administration of justice in the Bailiwick of Jersey.

The Courts apply the law of Jersey, which is a mixture of customary law and legislation passed by the Jersey Parliament, the States Assembly.

The Royal Court

The Royal Court is the principal and oldest court in Jersey and handles both criminal and civil matters. 

The president of the Royal Court is the Bailiff. 

Trials may be heard before the Bailiff, the Deputy Bailiff, or a Commissioner.

Commissioners are part-time judges, appointed from the ranks of judges or senior experienced lawyers from the Channel Islands, United Kingdom or Isle of Man. Commissioners may be appointed for fixed periods or for the purposes of hearing a specific case. 

Preliminary matters in civil cases may also be dealt with by the Master.

The role of clerk of the court is undertaken by the Judicial Greffier.

The Royal Court can sit as either the Superior Number or the Inferior Number.

The Superior Number consists of the Bailiff, the Deputy Bailiff or a Royal Court Commissioner and a minimum of five jurats.

The Inferior Number consists of the Bailiff, Deputy Bailiff or a Royal Court Commissioner sitting with two Jurats. Jurats are elected by the Electoral College consisting of members of the States Assembly and Jersey qualified lawyers.

The Inferior Number is restricted to a maximum sentence of 4 years in prison. A defendant may be found guilty of a serious crime by the Inferior Number or a jury but must go to the Superior Number if a sentence of more than four years is sought by the Crown. The Court determines the sentence in every case, which may be a custodial sentence, or an alternative such as Community Service.

Jury or ‘Assize’ trials

Serious cases of criminal offences are heard by the Criminal Assize. This is a full court sitting with a jury made up of 12 people. The jury can return a majority verdict but in order to convict a defendant, a minimum of 10 votes of guilty are needed.

Civil matters

Civil matters are dealt with by one of the divisions of the Royal Court. Cases concerning land and immovable property are dealt with by the Heritage Division.

Matters concerning divorce, adoption, civil partnerships and the care of children are dealt with by the Family Division.

Matters concerning wills and inheritance are dealt with by the Probate Division.

Other civil cases coming before the Royal Court are dealt with by the Samedi Division.

The name comes from the French word for Saturday when the court used to sit. The court now sits on Fridays, and other days.

When dealing with civil cases, the Royal Court usually sits as the Inferior Number.

Appeals

Appeals against decisions made by the Inferior Number are usually heard by the Superior Number.

Appeals against decisions made by the Superior Number are heard by the Jersey Court of Appeal.

Any further appeal against a decision of the Jersey Court of Appeal is heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which is in London. It is the highest Court of Appeal for Jersey.

Privy Council Appeal cases are heard in London.

The Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal was created in 1961 and sits about six times each year, each sitting lasting a week.

The Judges of the Court of Appeal comprise the Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff, plus a number of experienced lawyers including King's Counsel and retired judges from the United Kingdom, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man.

The Magistrate's Court

The Magistrate can try any criminal offence and can impose a maximum custodial sentence of one year, or a fine of up to £10,000.

For more serious matters, the case will be sent to the Royal Court for sentence or trial. Appeals against Magistrate’s Court decisions are dealt with by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court.

The Petty Debts Court

The Petty debts Court deals with civil cases up to a maximum claim value of £30,000. It also deals with disputes between landlords and tenants and the enforcement of maintenance claims. Appeals against Petty Debts Court decisions are dealt with by the Royal Court.

The Youth Court

The Youth Court consists of the Magistrate and two members of the Youth Court Panel.

The Court sits in private, although members of the press may attend, and deals with cases where the defendant is aged under 18. However, if an offence is deemed serious, the matter will be referred to the Royal Court.

Youth Appeal Court

The Youth Appeal Court is made up of the Bailiff and three members of the Youth Court Panel.

Tribunals

In addition to the courts, there are a number of Tribunals which are administered by the Judicial Greffe, including:

  • Charity Tribunal
  • Data Protection Tribunal
  • Health and Safety Appeal Tribunal
  • Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal
  • Mental Health Review Tribunal
  • Planning Appeal Tribunal
  • Social Security Tribunal
  • Tax Tribunal

Viscount

The Viscount or Vicomte is the executive officer of the Courts in Jersey and of the States Assembly.

The Viscount has a wide range of functions and is assisted by dedicated teams in the Viscount’s Department. The Department’s main role is to carry out orders of the Courts on behalf of the Viscount. In addition, officers in the Department enforce court judgments, collect fines, enforce confiscation and compensation orders, make wage arrests, carry out evictions, seize and manage assets, manage jury selection, fulfil the duties of Coroner, administers Désastre (bankruptcy) and other insolvency proceedings, act as official delegate for those who lack capacity to manage their own property and affairs and regulate liquidators and delegates.

Together, the Judicial Greffe and the Viscount’s Department are known as the Jersey Court Service.

The Probation Service

The Jersey Probation and After-Care Service provides a high-quality information service to the parishes, courts and prisons.

The department supervises offenders to:

  • reduce re-offending
  • allow restitution
  • protect the public

The two principal orders supervised by the department are probation orders and community service orders.

The department’s Jersey Family Court Advisory Service (JFCAS) provides information and assessments for the family courts in both private and public law proceedings. Throughout its work, JFCAS aims to promote the best interests of children.

Judicial Greffe

The Judicial Greffe provides support to ensure the effective operation of the Courts and Tribunals.