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Jersey Law Revision Board: appointment of member [P.19/2019]

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STATES OF JERSEY

JERSEY LAW REVISION BOARD: APPOINTMENT OF MEMBER

Lodged au Greffe on 15th February 2019 by the Chief Minister

STATES GREFFE

2019  P.19

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Article 2(1)(a)  of  the  Law  Revision (Jersey) Law 2003, to appoint Connétable M.K. Jackson of St. Brelade as a member of the Law Revision Board.

CHIEF MINISTER

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P.19/2019

REPORT

The Law Revision (Jersey) Law 2003 gives a statutory framework to allow Revised Editions of the Laws of Jersey to be prepared and given official status as the "sole authentic edition of the laws of Jersey, in respect of the law contained in it and in force on the revision date" (Article 9). The first Revised Edition was produced in 2005 and is published in hard copy and on the Jersey Law website. The Revised Edition makes it possible for users of the Laws to find an accurate and up-to-date version of each piece of  legislation.  The  Revised  Edition  has  been  updated  annually  since  it  was  first produced, with updates being published by April.

The Law Revision (Jersey) Law 2003 establishes a Law Revision Board, comprising 2 States Members, H.M. Attorney General, the Greffier of the States and the Law Draftsman, who are authorised by the Law to bring into force each Revised Edition.

The role of the 2 States Members on the Board is principally to agree, at a political level, that the annual updates prepared by the Law Draftsman's Office are ready to be brought into force. In practice, they will need to rely to a large extent on the legally qualified Members of the Board to give the necessary assurance about the contents of the updates. The Board does not need to meet frequently, with in recent years only one or 2 meetings being held each year to approve the annual update. 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 their interest to fill the vacancy on the  Board.  Four  Members  expressed  interest  and  were  all  excellent  candidates. However, it was felt that a Minister would not be best placed to sit on the Board, given the need to review Laws that they themselves had potential responsibility for. Of the 3 non-ministerial candidates, the Chief Minister was also minded of other, future roles that will require Members to fulfil. This, combined with the Connétable of St. Brelade 's extensive experience as a States Member, led the Chief Minister to proposing him for the role.

Financial and manpower implications

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

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P.19/2019