Service of Process and Taking of Evidence (Jersey) Law 1960

Jersey Law 12/1960 SERVICE OF PROCESS AND TAKING OF EVIDENCE (JERSEY) LAW, 1960. ____________ A LAW to regulate the service within the Island of process of courts outside the Island, and vice versa , and to provide for taking evidence in proceedings pending before courts outside the Island, sanctioned by Order of Her Majesty in Council of the 7th day of JUNE, 1960. ____________ ( Registered on the 9 th day of July, 1960). ____________ STATES OF JERSEY. ____________ The 23rd day of February, 1960. ____________ W HEREAS , on the twenty-seventh day of June, 1562, Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth I granted, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal, a Charter to the Bailiff and Jurats and other natives and inhabitants of the Island of Jersey, the said Charter containing a confirmation of all and singular the laws and customs duly and lawfully used in the Island, and also granting and confirming to the Bailiff and Jurats and all other magistrates, officers of Justice, and any other persons appointed there in any office or duty, full, absolute and complete authority touching all sorts of pleas, processes, law suits, actions, disputes and cases of any kind whatsoever arising in the Island, as well real, personal and mixed, as criminal and capital, and there and not elsewhere to plead, proceed with, prosecute and defend all these things and in the same matters either to proceed or supersede, to examine, hear, end, acquit, condemn, decide and put their sentences into execution according to the laws and customs of the Island theretofore used and approved ; Whereas the said Charter contains a clause which, translated from the original Latin, reads as follows – “Moreover we desire and for us our heirs and successors by these presents we grant to the aforesaid Bailiff and Jurats and other natives and inhabitants within the Island and other maritime places before mentioned that none of them for the future should be cited apprehended or drawn into any lawsuit by any writs or process issued from any of our Courts or other Courts within our kingdom of England or any of them or in any other way be compelled to appear or reply without the Island and maritime places aforesaid before any Judges Courts Magistrates or officers of Justice of ours or of others concerning or touching any thing suit matter or cause whatsoever arising within the aforesaid Island but that the said Islanders and any one of them notwithstanding citations apprehensions writs and processes of the kind mentioned may and might lawfully and with impunity in the Island and aforesaid places reside remain be at rest and there await justice without any corporal punishment or pecuniary fine ransom or loss on that account to be incurred or suffered and without any offence or cause of contempt or contumacy as far as concerns our heirs and successors on them or on any one or more of them on that account to be inflicted imposed or otherwise adjudged. Except only such cases as by the laws and customs of the Island and aforesaid places may be reserved to our royal cognisance and examination or by our royal right or privilege ought to be reserved.” ; Whereas it is desirable to make provision for the service in the Island of process of courts outside the Island, without prejudice to the privileges and immunities conferred by the said Charter, and for the service outside the Island of process of Jersey Courts ; Whereas it is desirable to make provision for the taking of evidence in relation to civil and commercial matters pending before courts and tribunals outside the Island ; And Whereas it is desirable to make provision for the implementation of agreements entered into between Her Majesty and the Governments of foreign countries in connexion with the matters aforesaid; THE STATES , subject to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law : - PART I SERVICE OF PROCESS ARTICLE 1 SERVICE WITHIN THE ISLAND OF PROCESS OF COURTS OUTSIDE THE ISLAND (1) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that it is not unlawful for any person to serve on any other person within the Island any process or citation in any civil or commercial matter summoning or citing that other person to appear before a court or tribunal of any country outside the Island, whether within or without Her Majesty’s dominions. (2) Rules of court may be made for regulating the service in the Island of any process or citation in any civil or commercial matter pending before a court or tribunal of a foreign country – ( a ) upon a letter of request from such court or tribunal transmitted by the Secretary of State with an intimation that it is desirable that effect be given to the same ; and ( b ) for giving effect to any agreement between Her Majesty and the government of that foreign country in the matter of the service of any such process or citation as aforesaid. (3) Nothing in this Article shall be deemed to import the recognition of jurisdiction in a court or tribunal outside the Island in any thing, suit, cause or matter whatsoever in which that court or tribunal is not now recognized by the Law of the Island as having jurisdiction. ARTICLE 2 SERVICE OUTSIDE THE ISLAND OF PROCESS OF JERSEY COURTS Any process in any civil or commercial matter summoning or citing a person outside the Island to appear before a court of the Island may be served on that person in such cases and in such manner as may be prescribed by rules of court. PART II TAKING OF EVIDENCE IN RELATION TO CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL MATTERS PENDING BEFORE COURTS AND TRIBUNALS OUTSIDE THE ISLAND ARTICLE 3 ORDER FOR THE EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES IN RELATION TO MATTERS PENDING BEFORE A COURT OR TRIBUNAL OUTSIDE THE ISLAND Where, upon an application for this purpose, it appears to the Royal Court that any court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction in a country outside the Island, whether within or without Her Majesty’s dominions, is desirous of obtaining the testimony of any witness or witnesses within the Island in relation to any civil or commercial matter pending before such court or tribunal, the Royal Court may order the examination upon oath, upon interrogatories or otherwise, before any person or persons named in the order, of such witness or witnesses accordingly ; and may, by the same order or by any subsequent order, command the attendance of any person to be named in such order, for the purpose of being examined, or the production of any writings or other documents mentioned in such order, and may give all such directions as to the time, place and manner of such examination, and all other matters connected therewith, as may appear reasonable and just ; and any such order may be enforced in like manner as an order made by the Royal Court in a cause depending in that court. ARTICLE 4 CERTIFICATE OF AMBASSADOR, ETC., SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF FOREIGN APPLICATION Where an application is made under this Part of this Law in relation to a civil or commercial matter pending before a court or tribunal in a foreign country, a certificate under the hand of the ambassador, minister or other diplomatic agent of that country, received as such by Her Majesty, or where there is no such diplomatic agent, then of the consul-general or consul of that country in London, received and admitted as such by Her Majesty, that the matter is so pending, and that such court or tribunal is desirous of obtaining the testimony of the witness or witnesses to whom the application relates, shall be evidence of the matters so certified ; but where no such certificate is produced, other evidence to that effect shall be admissible. ARTICLE 5 EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES TO BE TAKEN UPON OATH (1) Every person authorized to take the examination of witnesses by any order made in pursuance of this Part of this Law may take all such examinations upon the oath of the witness, and, for that purpose, shall have power to administer an oath. (2) The provisions of the Law passed by the States on the 7yh day of April 1869, and confirmed by Order of Her Majesty in Council of the 13th day of May, 1869, entitled “Règlement substituant, dans le cas de conscience, l’affirmation solennelle au serment Judiciaire” 1 shall apply to the examination of witnesses under this Part of this Law. ARTICLE 6 EXPENSES OF WITNESSES Every person whose attendance is required in pursuance of any order made under this Part of this Law shall be entitled to the like payment as upon attendance as a witness in civil proceedings before the Royal Court. ARTICLE 7 EXTENT OF RIGHT OF REFUSAL TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND TO PRODUCE DOCUMENTS Every person examined under any order made under this Part of this Law shall have the like right to refuse to answer questions tending to criminate himself, and other questions, which a witness in civil proceedings before the Royal Court would be entitled to, and no person shall be compelled to produce under any such order as aforesaid any writing or other document that he would not be compellable to produce in such proceedings. PART III GENERAL ARTICLE 8 RULES OF COURT The power to make rules of court under the Royal Court (Jersey) Law, 1948, 2 shall include a power to make rules of court – ( a ) for any purpose for which rules of court may be made under Part I of this Law ; and ( b ) for the purposes of giving effect to Part II of this Law and regulating the procedure thereunder. ARTICLE 9 SHORT TITLE This Law may be cited as the Service of Process and Taking of Evidence (Jersey) Law, 1960. To be printed, published and posted. F. DE L. BOIS, Greffier of the States. 1 Tome II page 429. 2 Tome 1946–1948, page 573.