GUERNSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Elaine Gray and Steven Balmer, Carey Olsen
party in the absence of cogent evidence of that third party’s involvement in the circumstances such that they are a necessary and proper party to the injunc- tion. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non- Compliance A failure to comply with an injunctive order will gen- erally constitute contempt of court. If a contempt is established, this may result in a variety of sanctions, most commonly a fine or potentially the striking out of a defence or claim, with the ultimate sanction being imprisonment for contempt of court, although there are no modern examples of this occurring. Trials are generally undertaken in person, with oral submissions and evidence from lay and expert wit- nesses. Guernsey has a system of professional jurors called jurats who sit to determine questions of fact, unless the parties agree or the court determines that the matter should be heard by a judge sitting alone. 7.2 Case Management Hearings Interlocutory applications are generally determined at the routine court sitting on Friday mornings, unless an application is listed before a particular judge or where the application is anticipated to be longer than an hour or so. Applications are generally resolved after oral argu- ment, often coupled with written submissions, but on occasion parties may agree with the court that the matter can be determined on the papers. 7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings A case management hearing is generally held after the pleadings close to determine what further procedure should be ordered in a case and often further case management hearings will be ordered, both as a case approaches a trial and, in more complex cases, to monitor progress. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases As noted in 7.1 Trial Proceedings , the Guernsey court uses a system of professional jurors called jurats who
may sit to determine questions of fact, unless the par- ties agree and the court orders that the matter should be determined by a judge sitting alone. Where jurats sit, there are usually three in number. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence Guernsey’s rules of evidence largely follow those in place in England and guidance is often drawn from English precedents. There are some legacy custom- ary law evidentiary rules which are still relevant but to a limited extent. Hearsay evidence is permitted, and the Rules lay down a mechanism for facilitating the inclusion of hearsay evidence together with any objections thereto. 7.5 Expert Testimony Parties may, in appropriate cases, seek an order that expert evidence be adduced. This may be done on a single or joint basis. Although the court could seek expert evidence, in practice this is not done. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public Hearings in the Guernsey courts are generally always held in public unless one of the recognised exceptions to public hearings applies, such as cases involving minors, private trust matters, matrimonial matters, trade secrets or matters of national security. Tran- scripts are available of right to parties (unless the court directs otherwise) and on request by a non-party where the court is persuaded that this is appropriate. 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge Guernsey trials are generally conducted on the basis that the parties’ advocates make such submissions as are deemed appropriate, with the court generally intervening to obtain clarification or assistance where it considers this necessary in the interests of justice. In straightforward matters, a decision may be issued immediately, but in other matters it is more likely that the court will retire to consider its judgment, which is issued in writing in due course. 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings A simple matter such as a debt recovery action could be taken from commencement to trial in 6 to 12 months. In other cases, proceedings will take longer depending on the number of issues raised and the
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