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States Greffe: Scrutiny
The Bailiff of Jersey Bailiff 's Chambers
By email
12th January 2022 Dear Sir,
Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel Appointment of Jurats
The Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel [the Panel] has noted the recently lodged Proposition P.126/2021 Draft Royal Court (Amendment No. 16) (Jersey) Law 202- [the Proposition] and welcomes the continued modernisation of the Royal Court (Jersey) Law 1948. During its deliberation of the Proposition the Panel discussed the valued role and purpose of Jurats within the Island's community. One area of potential updating, in the Panel's considerations, was on the appointment of Jurats and wider representation within the proceedings of the courts.
The Panel contemplated whether including a wider representation of the public in the office of Jurat would aid in achieving greater diversity of viewpoints within the Judicial system and assist in handling day to day duties carried out by the courts. Indeed, the Panel understands that Jurats do not need a legal background, however, the Panel notes that the Jurat Electoral College of over 500 members is heavily weighted to those professionally tied to the legal system, namely members of the Jersey Bar and Solicitors of the Royal Court. The Panel has questioned whether this may be the consequence of the historic reliance upon representation of those groups and Law Society within construction of the justice system, and may result in imbalanced voting during the appointment of Jurats which may potentially create a less just society. The Panel is interested in exploring if this is in keeping with ideals of the community in the 21st Century, for example the overriding objective of the Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law 2018 which was to ensure that cases in criminal proceedings are dealt with justly.
The Panel would be grateful to gain your views on this matter, namely:
- What is a way forward to increase representation of members of the public in the office of Jurat, especially when considering the Electoral College?
- What mechanisms could be put in place to ensure a wide selection of the Island's community apply when one of the 12 Jurat positions become available?
- How could the Royal Court (Jersey) Law 1948 be amended further to bring it in standing with modern thinking?
The Panel looks forward to receiving your viewpoint and would appreciate a reply being received by Friday 21 January 2022.
Yours sincerely
Senator Kristina Moore
Chair, Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel