JERSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Lauren Glynn, Victoria Cure and Tara Lee, Carey Olsen
with the other parent, where this is supported by the evidence. 2.3.8 Costs of an Application for Relocation Whether a parent should be given leave to perma - nently remove a child from Jersey is a binary decision and cases very rarely settle; in most cases a final hear - ing is necessary and the final hearing will ordinarily be between two and five days in duration. This means that leave to remove applications are often expen - sive with legal fees frequently being incurred between GBP50,000 and GBP100,000. 2.3.9 Time Taken by an Application for Relocation It is ordinarily expected that an application for leave to remove would be determined within six to 12 months, depending on the court’s availability and any need for expert evidence. 2.3.10 Primary Caregivers Versus Left-Behind Parents There is no preference or bias between the impact of the move, or the move being refused, on the child’s primary caregiver or the left-behind parent, but the impact on both parents will be taken into account in the context of the child’s welfare. 2.4 Relocation Within a Jurisdiction Jersey is a small, nine-by-five mile island. Parents do not require the consent of anyone else with parental responsibility to move within the island. Pursuant to the Criminal Law (Child Abduction) (Jer - sey) Law 2005, it is a criminal offence for a person connected with a child under the age of 16 years to take or send the child out of Jersey without the appro - priate consent. A person is deemed to be connected with the child if they are: • a parent of the child; • a guardian of the child; • a person in whose favour a residence order is in force with respect to the child; or • a person having custody of the child. 3. Child Abduction 3.1 Legality
The law does not apply to people who have a resi - dence order in respect of the child, if they remove or take the child out of Jersey for a period of less than one month. No offence is committed by the person taking or sending the child out of Jersey without the consent of another person whose consent is required, if the person: • does so in the belief that the other person has con - sented, or would consent if the other person was aware of all the relevant circumstances; • has taken all reasonable steps to communicate with the other person but has been unable to com - municate with that other person; or • the other person has unreasonably refused to con - sent – note, this defence does not apply if the other person has a residence order in respect of the child, has custody of the child, or the person taking or sending the child out of Jersey is, by so acting, in breach of an order made by a court in Jersey. It is also a criminal offence for other persons (ie, a person not deemed to be connected with the child) to take or detain a child under the age of 16 years out of Jersey without lawful authority or excuse. The maximum penalty under the Criminal Law (Child Abduction) (Jersey) Law 2005 is seven years’ impris - onment and/or a fine. It is also unlawful (under civil law) to remove a child from Jersey, either temporarily or permanently, with - out either the permission of all those with parental responsibility for the child or an order permitting removal from the Family Division of the Royal Court of Jersey, save that a person with a residence order in respect of the child may remove the child from Jersey without consent for a period of less than one month. 3.2 Steps Taken to Return Abducted Children If a child has been removed from Jersey without the relevant consent, measures are available to aid the return of the child from the country to which they have been taken.
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