Royal Court (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 1951

Jersey Law 2/1951 ROYAL COURT (AMENDMENT) (JERSEY) LAW, 1951 ____________ A LAW to amend the Royal Court (Jersey) Law, 1948, sanctioned by Order of His Majesty in Council of the 29th day of JANUARY, 1951. (Registered on the 10 th day of February, 1951 ). ____________ STATES OF JERSEY. ____________ The 31st day of October, 1950. ____________ T HE STATES, subject to the sanction of His Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law: - ARTICLE I (1) For Article 5 of the Royal Court (Jersey) Law, 1948, 1 (hereinafter referred to as “the principal Law”) there shall be substituted the following Article : - “ARTICLE 5 APPOINTMENT OF JURATS (1) There shall be an Electoral College for the purpose of the appointment of Jurats . (2) The Electoral College shall consist of – ( a ) the Bailiff, who shall be its president; (b) the Jurats ; (c) the Constables of the twelve parishes of the Island; (d) the elected members of the States; (e) members of the Jersey Bar, admitted not less than seven years before the meeting of the Electoral College, who have renewed their oath of Advocate within the seven months preceding the meeting of the Electoral College; and (f) Solicitors (“ Ecrivains ”) of the Royal Court admitted not less than seven years before the meeting of the Electoral College: Provided that a member of the Bar or a Solicitor shall cease to be a member of the Electoral College from the day upon which he undertakes wholetime service in any office or employment in respect of which he is entitled to receive remuneration from the Crown or from the States or from any parochial authority: Provided also that a Solicitor shall cease to be a member of the Electoral College from the day upon which there has been lodged with the Bailiff a certificate signed by the President and the Secretary of the “Chambre des Ecrivains ” to the effect that such Solicitor has ceased, for any reason whatsoever, to practise or to be legally entitled to practise as a Solicitor of the Royal Court. (3) The Lieutenant Governor, the Dean, His Majesty’s Attorney General and His Majesty’s Solicitor General shall be members of the Electoral College but, as such, shall not be entitled to vote nor to propose or second a candidate for appointment as Jurat . (4) The Viscount, the Judicial Greffier and the Greffier of the States jointly shall at all times maintain a register of the names and addresses of the members for the time being of the Electoral College, and a copy of such register, signed by the Viscount, the Judicial Greffier and the Greffier of the States, shall at all times be exhibited in the Vestibule of the Royal Court House. (5) Subject to the following provisions of this Article, a person shall be appointed to the office of Jurat – ( a ) where his nomination to that office is proposed by one member, and seconded by another member, of the Electoral College, in the form set out in the First Schedule to this Law ; and ( b ) if there are more candidates duly nominated than there are vacancies to be filled, where he is elected to that office by the Electoral College. (6) Within fourteen days after the day on which it comes to the notice of the Bailiff that a vacancy has occurred from any cause whatsoever, among the Jurats , he shall give notice of the vacancy to the members for the time being of the Electoral College. (7) Notice of a vacancy among the Jurats shall, on the written instructions of the Bailiff, be delivered by the Viscount to every member for the time being of the Electoral College and such notice shall specify the latest date (being a date not less than ten days, and not more than fourteen days, from the date of the notice, as may be specified therein) by which nominations of candidates for the vacancy are to be received by the Bailiff. (8) Where there are only as many candidates nominated as there are vacancies to be filled, the person or persons so nominated shall be duly appointed to the office of Jurat and the Bailiff shall take the necessary steps for such person or persons to take the oath of office of Jurat in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (27) of this Article. (9) Where there are more candidates duly nominated than there are vacancies to be filled, the Bailiff shall summon a meeting of the Electoral College for a day not later than the fourteenth day after the last day for the receipt of nominations. (10) A summons to attend a meeting of the Electoral College shall, on the written instructions of the Bailiff, be delivered by the Viscount to every member for the time being of the Electoral College, four days at least before the day for which the meeting is summoned. (11) The summons shall contain particulars of – ( a ) the day upon which, and the hour and place at which, the meeting is to be held ; ( b ) the purpose for which the meeting is being summoned ; and ( c ) the particulars relating to the candidates nominated as set out in the forms of nomination, together with the names of their proposers and seconders . (12) A notice containing the particulars specified in paragraph (11) of this Article shall be published by the Greffier of the States in two newspapers circulating in the Island, one being a publication in French and the other a publication in English, four days at least before the meeting of the Electoral College. (13) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (20) of this Article, every member of the Electoral College shall be entitled to address the meeting. (14) The meeting shall be held in public, but the vote shall be secret. (15) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3) of this Article, every member of the Electoral College shall be entitled to as many votes as there are vacancies to be filled : Provided that – ( a ) a person who is a member of the Electoral College by virtue of more than one capacity shall not be entitled to vote in more than one capacity ; ( b ) no person shall cast more than one vote for the same candidate ; and ( c ) the Bailiff shall only vote in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (19) of this Article. (16) The Bailiff shall examine the voting papers and shall forthwith, in the presence of the members of the Electoral College and of the public present at the meeting, declare the result of the ballot. (17) If the ballot results in an equal number of votes being cast in favour of two or more candidates, the Bailiff, after declaring the appointment of such candidate or candidates as shall have obtained a clear majority or clear majorities, shall call upon the members of the Electoral College to vote again : Provided that the second ballot shall be with respect only to those candidates the obtaining by whom of an equal number of votes has resulted in a tie for a vacancy or vacancies to which no appointment has been declared by the Bailiff in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this paragraph. (18) The Bailiff shall examine the voting papers and shall forthwith, in the presence of the members of the Electoral College and of the public present at the meeting, declare the result of the second ballot. (19) If the result of the second ballot is inconclusive, the Bailiff shall vote and, having voted, shall declare the final result of the ballot. (20) No business other than the election of a Jurat or of Jurats shall, under any pretext whatsoever, be conducted at a meeting of the Electoral College. (21) The quorum of the Electoral College shall be forty. (22) If, twenty minutes after the time for which the meeting has been summoned, there is no quorum, the Bailiff shall adjourn the meeting for not more than ten days. (23) The Viscount shall, on the written instructions of the Bailiff, serve upon every member for the time being of the Electoral College (whether or not he was present at the first meeting) a new summons which shall, “ mutatis mutandis ”, contain particulars similar to those required by paragraph 11) of this Article to be contained in a summons and shall be served in the manner prescribed by that paragraph. (24) The Greffier of the States shall cause new notices which shall, “ mutatis mutandis ”, contain particulars similar to those required by paragraph (12) of this Article to be contained in a press notice to be published in the newspapers and in the manner prescribed by that paragraph. (25) The members of the Electoral College, being duly assembled in adjourned meeting, shall proceed with the election of a Jurat or Jurats , whether a quorum be present or not, but, in all other respects, shall proceed in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Article. (26) The Greffier of the States shall attend meetings of the Electoral College, shall act as its Clerk and shall record its proceedings. (27) The Viscount shall, on the instructions of the Bailiff, warn the candidate or candidates appointed to the office of Jurat to attend before the Royal Court of Jersey, for the purpose of taking oath of office of Jurat , on the day appointed for the purpose by the Bailiff, which day, however, shall not be less than four, nor more than ten, days after the date of his appointment: Provided that if a candidate appointed to the office of Jurat is prevented by illness from attending before the Royal Court for the purpose of taking oath of office of Jurat on the day appointed for the purpose by the Bailiff, such candidate shall be permitted to take oath on such later date as may be appointed for the purpose by the Superior Number of the Royal Court. (28) Every notice and summons to be delivered in pursuance of this Article shall be deemed to have been duly delivered if it has been delivered by hand at, or addressed through the post to, the address contained in the register mentioned in paragraph (4) of this Article as being the address of the person to whom it is to be so delivered or addressed.” (2) For Article 9 of the principal Law 2 there shall be substituted the following Article – “ARTICLE 9 VOID APPOINTMENTS If the appointment of a Jurat is declared null and void by the Superior Number of the Royal Court under the provisions of Article 7 or 8 of this Law, the Bailiff shall immediately take the necessary steps with a view to the appointment of a Jurat in place of the Jurat whose appointment has been declared null and void as aforesaid.” ARTICLE 2 For the First Schedule to the principal Law 3 there shall be substituted the Schedule to this Law. ARTICLE 3 This Law may be cited as the Royal Court (Amendment) (Jersey) Law, 1951, and this Law and the principal Law may be cited together as the Royal Court (Jersey) Laws, 1948 and 1951. SCHEDULE FIRST SCHEDULE (Article 5(5)) ISLAND OF JERSEY ROYAL COURT (JERSEY) LAW, 1948 FORM OF NOMINATION OF CANDIDATE FOR OFFICE OF JURAT We, the undersigned, members of the Electoral College constituted under the Royal Court (Jersey) Law, 1948, recommend the following person – Name Christian Names Date of Birth Residence Occupation as a candidate for appointment to the office of Jurat of the Royal Court and we declare that, to the best of our knowledge, information and belief, the said candidate – ( a ) is qualified for appointment to the office of Jurat of the Royal Court in accordance with the provisions of the said Law; and ( b ) is not disqualified for appointment to the said office in accordance with the provisions of the said Law or otherwise. This day of 19 . Signed........................................ Proposer . Signed........................................ Seconder . To be printed, published and posted. F. DE L. BOIS, Greffier of the States. 1 Tome 1946–1948, page 577. 2 Tome 1946–1948, page 584. 3 Tome 1946–1948 page 594.