JERSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Marcus Pallot and Eleanor Davies, Carey Olsen
3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant
jurisdictions). A representation is particularly suitable where the applicant seeks orders which only affect themselves, or where the identity of other individuals who should be party to the proceedings is not yet known. Amending Pleadings There is no automatic right for a party to amend its pleadings at any stage of the proceedings in Jersey. A party who wishes to amend its pleadings must either obtain the consent of all of the other parties or seek permission from the court, which may be granted at Actions are commenced by service of the summons or order of justice, summoning the defendant to a first hearing of the action in a general list which takes place on Friday afternoons. Proceedings by way of representation are commenced on lodging the representation at court (although ser- vice is still important for prescription/limitation pur- poses), and the court will usually give directions as to service on relevant parties at the first hearing of the representation. the court’s discretion. 3.5 Rules of Service Once a plaintiff commences an action in Jersey by way of a summons or order of justice, the plaintiff must arrange for it to be served on the defendant and thereafter convene a first hearing by “tabling” the Service in the jurisdiction can be effected either by ordinary service or by personal service, depending on the process to be served. A simple summons may be served by ordinary service. This involves serving the documents at an address by post or by fax, or by leaving the document at the defendant’s “proper address” as defined in the RCR. An order of justice must be served by personal ser- vice. This involves attending in person and leaving the document (or a copy, if an order of justice) with the person to be served. Where personal service is required under the rules (such as for an order of jus- action (notifying the court). Service in the Jurisdiction
The Royal Court’s jurisdiction is territorial and is lim- ited to those found within Jersey unless it gives per- mission to serve out of the jurisdiction. An application to serve out of the jurisdiction is made under the Service of Process Rules 2019 (the Service Rules). As a general rule, the court will only allow the plaintiff to serve proceedings on that defendant if it is satisfied that one of the grounds specified in the schedule to the Service Rules applies, and that Jer- sey is the proper place in which to bring the claim. The court must also be satisfied that the proceedings raise a serious issue to be tried, and that the plaintiff believes that the claim has a reasonable prospect of success. 3.4 Initial Complaint There are two types of proceedings in Jersey: an action, and proceedings by way of representation. There are three types of originating process used to commence the different types of proceedings. Summons A summons is the initial document which may be used to commence an action. It is intended to be used only in simple matters (eg, a simple debt claim). The form of a summons is prescribed by the RCR. Order of Justice An order of justice may alternatively be used to com- mence an action. It is intended for more complex mat- ters and is more common as it is suitable for all but the simplest cases. Unlike a summons, an order of justice may also include injunctions against the defendant. If injunctions against the defendant are sought in terms of the order of justice, it must be lodged with the Bailiff of the Royal Court for signing. Representation A representation may be used to commence repre- sentation proceedings in Jersey (as opposed to an action). A representation does not assert a cause of action against a defendant, but is a means of apply- ing to the court to bring a certain state of affairs to its attention and to ask the court to intervene and/or order some form of relief (akin to a “petition” in other
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