Law Revision Board: appointment of member.

STATES OF JERSEY

LAW REVISION BOARD: APPOINTMENT OF MEMBER

Lodged au Greffe on 17th January 2012 by the Minister for Treasury and Resources

STATES GREFFE

2012   Price code: A  P.7

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

in accordance with Article 2(1)(a) of the Law Revision (Jersey) Law 2003, to appoint Deputy G.C.L. Baudains of St. Clement as a member of the Law Revision Board.

MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES

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REPORT

The Law Revision Board was established by the Law Revision (Jersey) Law 2003 to oversee the preparation of revised editions of the laws of Jersey and to approve their publication. Article 2 of the Law specifies that the Board shall comprise 2 members of the States, appointed by the States, together with the Attorney General, the Greffier of the States and the Law Draftsman.

In 2005, after a project taking some 2½ years, the Law Revision Board brought into force the first Revised Edition of the Laws of Jersey which was published in hard copy and on the Jersey Legal Information Board website (http://www.jerseylaw.je). The Revised Edition is a statement of the law in force at the revision date and enables users to find the current version of each piece of legislation, taking account of the various amendments and repeals that might have changed the original enactment. In addition, through the use of the law revision powers in the Law, the Board was able to ensure that references in the legislation to matters such as the names of bodies or office- holders were updated and the text was made gender-neutral. The Revised Edition is undoubtedly an invaluable tool, not only for professionals such as lawyers and those working in the finance industry, but also for members of the public who need to consult local legislation. Its publication has clearly put Jersey at the forefront of comparable jurisdictions in terms of the accessibility of up-to-date legislation.

In order to keep the Revised Edition up-to-date the Law Revision Board produces annual updates. These are prepared in house' by the Law Draftsman's Office and ensure that the Revised Edition remains current.

Former Deputy F.J. Hill of St. Martin was appointed to the Board in 2006, and Deputy M. Tadier of St. Brelade was appointed in 2009. With the departure from the States of the former Deputy of St. Martin , it is necessary to appoint a replacement member to join Deputy Tadier . The role of the 2 States members on the Board is principally to be satisfied, at a political level, that the annual updates prepared by the Law Draftsman's Office are ready to be brought into force although, in practice, they will need to rely largely on the legally qualified members of the Board to give the necessary assurance about the contents of the updates. The Board does not now need to meet frequently, and in recent years has only held one or 2 meetings a year to approve the annual update and there are, in addition, law revision issues that are occasionally circulated for consideration to Board members by the Law Draftsman.

All  States  members  were  recently  invited  to  indicate  whether  they  wished  to  be considered to fill the vacancy on the Board, and I am grateful to all members who expressed  an  interest.  I  am  pleased  to  nominate   Deputy  G.C.L.  Baudains  of St. Clement to fill the vacancy. Deputy Baudains served as a member of the Board from 2003 to 2008 and therefore has previous experience of the work.

I am extremely grateful to Deputy Tadier for his work over the last 3 years as a member of the Board and I have no hesitation in recommending Deputy Baudains as a new Board Member.

Financial and manpower implications

There are no additional financial or manpower implications for the States arising from this proposition.

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