JERSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Marcus Pallot, Eleanor Davies and Christopher Tan, Carey Olsen
1. General 1.1 General Characteristics of the Legal System Jersey is one of the relatively few jurisdictions that have a “mixed” legal system. Its legal sys- tem is broadly based on elements of common, civil and customary law. The legal process is conducted through a com- bination of both written submissions and oral argument, although principally through oral argument. 1.2 Court System The Royal Court is Jersey’s principal and supe- rior court. It has original and unlimited jurisdic- tion (equivalent to the High Court in England and Wales). The Royal Court has four divisions. • heritage (dealing with land disputes); • probate (dealing with succession disputes); • family (dealing with family and matrimonial disputes); and • samedi (dealing with all other matters). In practice, however, these divisions have com- mon judicial personnel, except for certain family division judges. The constitution and procedure of the Royal Court in civil matters are principally regulated by the Royal Court (Jersey) Law 1948 and the Royal Court Rules 2004 (as amended) (RCR). The RCR are supplemented by “Practice Direc- tions” issued by the Royal Court, which all par- ties conducting litigation in Jersey must have regard to.
As the customary law court with original and unlimited jurisdiction, the Royal Court has “inherent jurisdiction”, which is not limited to that conferred expressly by the RCR. This inherent jurisdiction of the Royal Court is generally called upon as a residual source of powers to be used when it is just, equitable and necessary to do so. The Petty Debts Court The Petty Debts Court has non-exclusive juris- diction in respect of small civil claims up to a value of GBP30,000. It also has jurisdiction and specialisation as the court dealing with most landlord and tenant matters. The Petty Debts Court offers litigants free mediation services. The Magistrate’s Court As a general rule, all criminal cases in Jersey will initially be brought before the Magistrate’s Court in the first instance. The matter may sub- sequently be referred to the Royal Court if the Magistrate considers their sentencing powers to be insufficient in respect of the matter in ques- tion. In some instances, the Attorney General may commence criminal proceedings directly in the Royal Court where the case is particularly complex, or if there are otherwise compelling reasons to do so. The Court of Appeal A first instance decision of the Royal Court may be appealed to the Jersey Court of Appeal. The Privy Council There is the possibility of further appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Lon- don, the island’s apex court (in common with the other Crown Dependencies, the Overseas Terri- tories and certain independent Commonwealth jurisdictions).
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