GUERNSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Elaine Gray and Steven Balmer, Carey Olsen
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 recog- nised exceptions to public hearings applies, such as cases involving minors, private trust matters, trade secrets or matters of national security. Transcripts are available of right to par- ties (unless the court directs otherwise) and on request by a non-party where the court is per- suaded 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 clarifica- tion or assistance where it considers this neces- sary 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 complexity of those issues. Real- istically, most commercial disputes take around 18 months to 2 years to conclude.
sions, but on occasion parties may agree with the court that the matter can be determined on the papers. A case management hearing is generally held after the pleadings close to determine what fur- ther 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 Guern - sey court uses a system of professional jurors called jurats who may sit to determine questions of fact, unless the parties 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 leg- acy customary 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.
8. Settlement 8.1 Court Approval
In most cases there is no requirement for the court to approve a settlement reached between the parties. However, the court may wish to obtain details of a settlement where there are questions of capacity or a minor or the settle-
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