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STATES OF JERSEY
REFERENDUM COMMISSION: APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR AND MEMBERS
Presented to the States on 17th July 2024 by the Privileges and Procedures Committee
STATES GREFFE
2024 R.123
2
REPORT
This report has been presented to advise the States Assembly of the intention of the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) to appoint a new Chair and members of the Referendum Commission.
The principal functions of the Referendum Commission (in accordance with the Referendum (Jersey) Law 2017) are to consider the wording of any proposed referendum question to be considered by the Assembly; and to designate the lead campaign groups for a referendum that is taking place.
PPC intends to appoint the following persons as members of the Commission –
Advocate Mark Boothman, Chair Mr. Terence Le Sueur OBE
Mr. Christopher Dobbing
Advocate Boothman and Mr. Dobbing are to be appointed for 5-year terms; Mr. Le Sueur is to be appointed for a term of 3 years.
Brief biographical details for each appointee have been included at the end of this report. Under the terms of the Law, the Committee is obliged to present to the Assembly a notice of its intention to appoint at least 2 weeks before the appointments take formal effect.
Under the provisions of the Law, the Committee must not appoint a person to the Commission unless that person has been recommended to the Committee by a Panel comprising the Greffier of the States and 2 other persons. In this instance, the recruitment panel comprised the Deputy Greffier of the States (acting on behalf of the Greffier of the States), the Judicial Greffier and the former Director of Electoral Administration and Guidance from the UK's Electoral Commission (now Chief Executive of the UK's Local Government Boundary Commission).
Advocate Boothman and Mr. Le Sueur served on the Commission as previously constituted from 2017 to 2022 and it was recommended to PPC that their membership be renewed (permissible under the Law up to a maximum of 5 years, in light of the fact that each had already served a 5-year term). PPC accepted that recommendation. Further to his continuing membership, Advocate Boothman also expressed an interest in taking on the position of Chair. Following a process undertaken by, and a recommendation from, the recruitment panel in this regard, PPC intends to appoint Advocate Boothman to that position; as a member of the previous Commission, he will bring experience and continuity to the role.
A recruitment exercise for new members of the Commission was initiated in September 2023. The recruitment exercise was extended, however, in light of the fact there had been few applications; and interviews were ultimately held in January 2024. 3 applications were received. One applicant did not appear at interview, a second applicant could not be appointed due to the potential for a conflict of interest, but the recruitment panel was unanimous in its recommendation that Mr. Dobbing be appointed. PPC accepted that recommendation.
R.123/2024
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Under the Law, the Commission comprises a Chair and 4 other members; although its quorum is 3 members and the performance of its functions is not affected by any vacancy in its membership. The constitution of the Commission with Advocate Boothman, Mr. Le Sueur and Mr. Dobbing will therefore allow the Commission to undertake any work that may be required in the short term (particularly if there were to be any proposition that a referendum be held). Nevertheless, as there remain 2 vacancies, PPC will initiate a new recruitment process in order that the vacancies may be filled and the Commission is at full strength. A subsequent report for those new appointments will be presented to the States in due course.
Advocate Mark Boothman
Advocate Mark Boothman was born in Jersey and returned to the Island permanently in 2010 after studying in the U.K. Since his return, he qualified first as an English Solicitor (now not practising) and a Jersey Advocate in 2014. His main practice area is litigation, and he regularly appears before the Jersey courts in civil and criminal matters. He is one of the founding partners of Boothman Jones LLP and previously served on the Referendum Commission from 2017 to 2022.
Mr. Terence Le Sueur , OBE
Mr. Terence Le Sueur was a member of the States from 1987 until 2011, during which time he was Chief Minister from 2008 to 2011. He is now retired and previously served on the Referendum Commission from 2017 to 2022.
Mr. Christopher Dobbing
Mr. Christopher Dobbing moved to Jersey in 2020 after 7 years living in Beijing. He founded Cambridge Mask Company in 2015 to help children battle air pollution, ending up selling to more than a million customers in over 120 countries. He has recently broadened his focus to acquisition of e-commerce businesses. He has a Masters in Politics, Psychology and Sociology from Cambridge University and was a member of World Economic Forum's Global Shapers community until 2022.
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