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The Law Officers’ Department
Annual Review 2017
2
Contents
Introduction by HM Attorney General Robert MacRae QC .................................................................... 3
About the Law Officers’ Department ...................................................................................................... 4
What we do ............................................................................................................................................. 4
Organisation ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Our Code ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Objectives of the Law Officers’ Department .......................................................................................... 6
The work we do ..................................................................................................................................... 10
New Matters ......................................................................................................................................... 10
Criminal Division ................................................................................................................................... 11
Criminal Court Team ............................................................................................................................. 11
Mutual Legal Assistance ........................................................................................................................ 19
Civil Division .......................................................................................................................................... 23
Advice Team .......................................................................................................................................... 23
Commercial and Contentious Team ..................................................................................................... 27
Property Team ...................................................................................................................................... 32
Safeguarding Team ............................................................................................................................... 33
Curatorships .......................................................................................................................................... 35
Financial resources................................................................................................................................ 36
Appendix 1 – Law Officers’ Department Organisation Chart 2017 ...................................................... 37
3
Introduction by HM Attorney General Robert MacRae QC
The Law Officers’ Department has again had a very busy year, with a number of money-
laundering prosecutions, principally coming from drug trafficking cases, and a substantial
number of offences involving sexual assaults.
The Jersey Financial Crime Strategy Group agreed in May 2017 to fund an Economic Crime
and Confiscation Unit under the direction of the Attorney General. The new unit was launched
in October 2017 and, now that all recruitment has taken place, has a complement of nine posts
including specialist financial crime lawyers, police officers and a forensic accountant. The
establishment of the Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit ensures that the Island remains
at the forefront of the fight against financial crime and money laundering.
The Civil Division of the Law Officers’ Department also saw growth in the year, with extra
funding secured for the important work on Brexit; adult safeguarding in preparation for the
Mental Health (Jersey) Law and the Capacity and Self-Determination (Jersey) Law; and
children’s safeguarding and children-centred legislation in response to the Independent Jersey
Care Inquiry report.
In April 2017 John Edmonds retired as Director of the Criminal Division after a long and
distinguished career in the CPS in the UK and the Law Officers’ Department here in Jersey.
He was succeeded by Howard Tobias, who joined the Department in April 2017 as the new
Director of the Criminal Division.
My grateful thanks to the lawyers and staff of the Law Officers’ Department who continue to
work with dedication and skill in order to secure the objectives of the Law Officers’ Department,
which are set out at page 6 of this Review.
Robert MacRae QC
Attorney General
4
About the Law Officers’ Department
What we do
Give legal advice to the Government, the States Assembly, States Departments and the
Crown
Provide an independent public prosecution service for the Island
Protect the interests of the Crown and States in civil proceedings
Advise and represent the Children’s Service to help safeguard children at risk
Assist overseas law enforcement agencies
Carry out conveyancing work for the Crown and States of Jersey
Her Majesty’s Solicitor General
Mark Temple QC
sworn in 17 August 2015
Her Majesty’s Attorney General
Robert MacRae QC
sworn in 5 May 2015
5
Organisation
The Attorney General has overall responsibility for the Department.
The Solicitor General deputises for the Attorney General and gives advice on his own
account.
The Law Officers’ Department consists of the Criminal Division and the Civil Division
supported by a small Administration team.
A Director manages each division. The Criminal Division is divided into three teams: the
Criminal Court Team; the Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit (ECCU) and; the Mutual
Legal Assistance Team.
The Criminal Court Team prosecutes cases before the Royal Court and the Magistrate’s Court,
gives advice to the States of Jersey Police and the Honorary Police and consists of 14 legal
advisers and assistants. The Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit was established in
October 2017 in order to ensure that the Island remains at the forefront of the fight against
financial crime and money laundering and at the end of the year consisted of five legal advisers
and assistants. When fully resourced in 2018, the unit will have a staff complement of nine
posts including specialist financial crime lawyers, police officers and a forensic accountant.
The Mutual Legal Assistance team deals with international requests and consists of three legal
advisers, an assistant and a police officer who is on secondment from the States of Jersey
Police Joint Financial Crimes Unit.
The Civil Division is divided into four teams; Advice; Commercial and Contentious;
Safeguarding and; Property.
The Advice team has eight legal advisers and assistants providing advice regarding the
following: international treaties, BREXIT, European Law, sanctions, statutory interpretation,
extension of UK legislation to Jersey, drafting of Orders in Council and Rules of Court,
legislation projects, human rights, penalty review of draft legislation, drafting of Royal Assent
memoranda, and public law advice.
The Commercial and Contentious team consists of eight legal advisers and assistants who
provide advice in respect of contracts and contractual disputes, employment and
discrimination claims, data protection and freedom of information, planning, general civil
litigation and applications for judicial review.
The Safeguarding team consists of six legal advisers and assistants who provide advice to
the Children’s Service about the care and protection of children in the Island, and deal with
applications for public law orders in relation to children.
The Property team consists of four members of staff who advise on all property related matters
and who deal with conveyancing work on behalf of the Public of the Island and the Crown.
The Administration team supports the Law Officers and legal staff, in order that the functions
of the Law Officers can be carried out efficiently and effectively and in line with Financial
Directions and Codes of Practice.
6
See the Organisation Chart at Appendix 1.
Our Code
All staff at the Law Officers’ Department adhere to the Code of Conduct issued by the States
of Jersey Human Resources Department. Furthermore, lawyers in the Law Officers’
Department are also bound by the Departmental Code of Conduct for lawyers. This is found
on the Law Officers’ Department’s web pages at www.gov.je/lawofficers and sets out the rules
and standards applicable to lawyers which are appropriate having respect to the interests of
justice and their duties as public officers.
Objectives of the Law Officers’ Department
1) To provide objective legal advice to Government, Scrutiny, Members of the States and
Departments of the States of Jersey.
2) To provide a high quality prosecution service working in the interests of justice.
3) To ensure that the interests of the States of Jersey and the Crown are protected by
acting for them in civil proceedings.
4) To ensure that the functions and duties of the Attorney General arising from custom or
statute are performed to a high standard and in a timely manner.
5) To offer effective assistance within reasonable timescales to overseas judicial and law
enforcement agencies in criminal matters.
6) To provide an efficient conveyancing service in relation to property matters affecting
the Crown and the States of Jersey.
Admin16
Criminal Division
28
Civil Division25
Attorney General Solicitor General
Law Officers’ Department Headcount by Division (at 31 December 2017)
7
Overview 2017
2017
January Jersey’s international cooperation with US resulted in the confiscation of over US$4million. Under the US-Jersey asset-share agreement, over US$2million was kept in the Criminal Orders Confiscation Fund where it will be retained for the benefit of the people of Jersey.
February Doraville Properties Corporation v AG: Jersey Court of Appeal dismissed a challenge to the legality of the restraint order on funds in excess of US$300 million. Attorney General’s guidance published on Article 43 Court of Appeal (Jersey) law 1961 with regards to referrals by HM Lieutenant-Governor of criminal convictions and sentences to the Jersey Court of Appeal. Attorney General’s guidance to the media published concerning the reporting of committal proceedings.
March Attorney General’s direction published regarding reports of suspicious activity to the Honorary Police. AG v Whelan: defendant sentenced to three and a half years’ imprisonment for money-laundering. AG v Bacon: defendant sentenced to five and a half years for historic indecent assaults / procuring an act of gross indecency on children.
April Attorney General’s direction published concerning vehicle offences involving mobile phones. AG v Laffoley: defendant sentenced to eight and a half years’ imprisonment for distributing indecent images of children and breaching restraining orders issued under the Sex Offender legislation.
May Jersey Financial Crime Strategy Group agreed the establishment of the Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit under the direction of the Attorney General, in order to ensure that the Island remains at the forefront of the fight against financial crime and money laundering.
June Cooperation with the Danish authorities led to a payment into the Criminal Offences Confiscation Fund following a complex international money-laundering case. Attorney General’s cooperation with the Italian authorities led to the return of Euros 1.3 billion to Italy, safeguarding thousands of jobs and the operation of one of the largest steelworks in Europe. AG v Nicholls: defendant sentenced to four and a half years’ imprisonment for fraud and larceny, having stolen from two charities.
July Attorney General addressed the States Assembly, welcoming the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry (IJCI) report.
August Support given to Government with the development of policy and conduct of consultation exercises in respect of the new data protection, criminal procedure and sexual
8
Additional resources allocated to the Children’s Safeguarding and Advice teams following the publication of the IJCI report. Additional resources allocated to the Adult Safeguarding team in preparation for the introduction of the Mental Health (Jersey) Law and the Capacity and Self-Determination (Jersey) Law. Attorney General signed an asset sharing agreement with the Solicitor General of England and Wales following a complex international money-laundering case, resulting in over $2 million for Jersey. (See photo, following page).
offences laws. Presentations to stakeholders in industry and the to the Law Society.
September Meeting of the Attorneys and Solicitors General of the Crown Dependencies and Gibraltar hosted in Jersey.
October Attorney General met the Treasurer of the United States in Washington DC. Jersey’s asset sharing agreement with US resulted in nearly £3 million for Jersey after lengthy international money-laundering case. (See photo, following page, AG with Director General of JFSC in Washington DC with US Treasury and Homeland Security team). Attorney General won landmark English Court of Appeal argument on EU free movement of capital. AG v Loane: defendant sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for indecent assaults on a child. AG v Brown: defendant sentenced to life imprisonment for manslaughter. AG v S: defendant sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment for sexual offences against a child. Public launch of the Economic Crime and Confiscation Unit with the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.
November Attorney General spoke at the Conference of State Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in Vienna at the invitation of the World Bank, the Swiss Government and the International Centre for Asset Recovery (ICAR).
December Attorney General’s guidance published concerning referrals to the Attorney General by officers of regulatory departments with regards to suspected breaches of the law. AG v W: defendant sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment for 11 counts of historic sexual abuse against two children, including rape.
9
The Attorney General in Washington DC in October 2017 at the asset-sharing ceremony to
mark the confiscation of nearly £3 million being set aside in the Island’s the Criminal Offences
Confiscation Fund for the benefit of the people of Jersey. Left to right: Director General, Jersey
Financial Services Commission; Attorney General Robert MacRae QC; John M Farley,
Director, Department of the Treasury, Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture; Matthew Allen,
Assistant Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security.
Robert Buckland QC, Solicitor General for England and Wales, and Attorney General Robert
MacRae QC, signing the asset-sharing agreement in Westminster for $4.2 million, July 2017
10
The work we do
New Matters
While the number of new matters opened during a year does not provide a full picture of the
activity of the Department, as new matters can take from a few hours to many hundreds of
hours to complete, the number of matters opened is a useful indicator of the volume of work
undertaken by the Department in terms of the number of requests for legal advice and
prosecution files opened. In 2017 nearly 1,600 new advice and prosecution files were opened
at the Law Officers’ Department:
Broken down by files opened per month in the two divisions and directly by the Law Officers:
14201378
1603 1593
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2014 2015 2016 2017
New matters opened per year
26
54
53
23
57
54
22
43
50
21
38
59
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Law Officers
Civil Division
Criminal Division
Average number of new matters opened per month
2014 2015 2016 2017
11
Criminal Division
Criminal Court Team
During 2017 a total of 129 new criminal prosecutions were committed from the Magistrate’s
Court to the Royal Court or indicted directly to the Royal Court. The total number of new
criminal prosecutions has been declining since 2015 but a particular focus on prosecutions for
money-laundering offences under the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999 has seen
prosecutions increase from none in 2014 to five in 2015, ten in 2016 and nine in 2017.
0
3
1
0
0
2
2
5
9
3
6
9
10
21
24
34
0
0
0
1
1
2
3
5
6
8
8
10
12
20
38
45
0
0
1
1
1
0
12
13
17
6
4
5
16
29
54
43
1
5
0
0
1
1
13
10
16
11
2
0
25
10
46
39
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Possesion of explosives/firearms
Health & Safety infractions
Murder/manslaughter
Arson/maliciously setting fire
Planning infractions
Other miscellaneous infractions
Breaking and entry/illegal entry
Fraud and other offences of dishonesty
Larceny and receiving stolen property
Motoring offences
Other miscellaneous criminal offences
Proceeds of crime inc money-laundering
Public order offences/resisting arrest
Sexual offences
Violence against the person
Drugs offences
Royal Court Cases
2014 2015 2016 2017
12
New cases at the Royal Court were dealt with in the following manner:
The outcome of the cases sent to trial were as follows:
For the 18 trials in 2017 (both Assize and Inferior Number) five defendants were found guilty
and 13 defendants were acquitted. Many of the cases resulting in acquittals were allegations
of rape. The reasons for this disappointing number of convictions for serious sexual offences
are being considered.
The amount of fines and costs awarded in the Royal Court each year varies according to the
number of companies and individuals prosecuted during the year for offences which tend to
attract fines, such as Health and Safety prosecutions, rather than custodial or other types of
sentence. Costs are now being sought in a wider range of cases.
3
30
40
57
1
21
48
53
8
29
30
84
9
18
26
79
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Other (eg failed to appear, arrest ordered, caseabansonded etc)
Sentenced by Superior Number following guilty plea
Not guilty plea - remanded for trial
Sentenced by Inferior Number following guilty plea
Royal Court - New Cases
2014 2015 2016 2017
2
5
16
17
1
4
9
27
4
0
10
13
1
7
8
11
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Tried before Inferior Number
Other (eg prosecution abandoned before trial,defendant failed to appear)
Tried before Criminal Assizes
Change of plea to guilty before trial date
Outcome of Cases Sent to Trial
2014 2015 2016 2017
13
The results of appeals against conviction and/or sentence in criminal appeals from the Royal
Court to the Court of Appeal are shown below.
£208,030
£100,350
£21,600
£185,625
£- £50,000 £100,000 £150,000 £200,000 £250,000
2017
2016
2015
2014
Royal Court - fines and costs awarded
0 1 2 3 4 5
appeal allowed
appeal abandonded
appeal dismissed
leave to appeal refused
Royal Court appeals to the Court of Appeal -appeals against conviction
2014 2015 2016 2017
14
In addition to prosecuting cases in the Royal Court, the Criminal Court team also advise the
States of Jersey Police, the Honorary Police and prosecutes all trials before the Magistrate’s
Court, including those cases that start in the Magistrate’s Court before moving to the Royal
Court.
The team also provides an out of hours call service and delivers training sessions to
Centeniers, Police Officers and other professionals within the legal system.
The breakdown of types of new cases is shown in the chart on the following page.
Notes for the chart:
Royal Court files are cases that were committed from the Magistrate’s Court to the Royal
Court;
Magistrate’s Court files are cases that were completed in the Magistrate’s Court;
Advice files are matters that have come in for charging advice to be given by a Legal Adviser.
Where advice is given to charge, the case may be dealt with by the Legal Adviser or,
alternatively, the case is taken on by the Centenier.
0 1 2 3 4 5
appeal allowed
appeal abandonded
appeal dismissed
leave to appeal refused
Royal Court appeals to the Court of Appeal -appeals against sentence
2014 2015 2016 2017
15
As indicated by the comments on page 11, the amount of work in the Royal Court has
diminished. This is partly a recognition of the fact that the Magistrate’s Court is the appropriate
venue to deal with a larger variety of cases. However the cases being committed to the Royal
Court are generally more complex than hitherto.
The breakdown of the new files opened by offence:
82
354
68
103
333
92
57
343
113
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Advice Files
Magistrate's Court
Royal Court
New files opened
2015 2016 2017
7
33
26
22
31
64
13
60
18
12
47
171
9
40
28
14
38
50
18
57
18
5
59
192
11
50
25
5
62
57
9
42
10
13
65
164
0 50 100 150 200 250
Malicious Damage
Other
DIC
Infractions
Public Order
Motoring
Fraud / Dishonesty
Sexual Offences
Larceny / Receiving
B&E / Illegal Entry
Drugs
Violence
Files by offence
2015 2016 2017
16
Domestic Violence files dealt with by the Law Officers’ Department:
While the number of cases is still significant, the continued decrease from the peak number of
cases in 2014 is due to: 1) the success of the ADAPT (Adapt Domestic Abuse Prevention
Training) programme in significantly reducing repeat offenders; 2) the success of the IDVA
(Independent Domestic Violence Advisor) service in high risk cases which has reduced the
number of victims who resume relationships with domestic violence perpetrators, and 3) the
use of restraining orders when sentencing domestic violence cases.
The decrease in domestic violence files handled by the Law Officers’ Department follows the
overall trend reported in the States of Jersey Police statistics for 2017 which show an 11%
decrease in total domestic violence incidents for the same period.
It should be noted however that, as with the trend seen in the States of Jersey Police figures
for 2017, the Law Officers’ Department saw a 20% increase in domestic violence incidents
with high-risk parties from 2016 to 2017.
3
70
5
6
85
7
11
67
22
21
118
10
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Advice files
Magistrate's Court
Royal Court
Domestic Violence files dealt with by the Department
2014 2015 2016 2017
17
A small number of appeals against conviction or sentence are made each year from the
Magistrate’s Court to the Royal Court. The results of the appeals are shown below:
0 1 2 3 4 5
Appeal dismissed
Appeal abandoned
Appeal allowed
Magistrate's Court appeals to Royal Court -appeals against conviction
2014 2015 2016 2017
0 1 2 3 4 5
Appeal dismissed
Appeal abandoned
Appeal allowed
Magistrate's Court appeals to Royal Court -appeals against sentence
2014 2015 2016 2017
18
Youth Court
The increase in the number of Youth Court cases in 2017 reverses the trend since 2010 of an
overall reduction in the number of cases and individual offenders. However, it should be noted
that the 2017 figures are caused by a number of individual youths being charged with several
offences then going on to re-offend during the year, with one youth accounting for 20 of the
103 cases dealt with in the Youth Court.
There were no appeals from the Youth Court in 2017.
103
62
20
50
100
150
200
250
300
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Youth Court
Total cases Total individuals Royal Court Committals
19
Mutual Legal Assistance
Interaction with foreign jurisdictions
The Criminal Division deals with Mutual Legal Assistance on behalf of the Attorney General.
Details of how to apply for assistance appear on the Law Officers’ Department’s web pages
in English, French and Arabic at www.gov.je/LawOfficers. The work involved in this area
includes gathering written and oral evidence for use in overseas criminal or civil asset recovery
investigations and proceedings, as well as freezing and confiscating the proceeds of crime
and drug trafficking. Confidentiality precludes us from reporting the details of individual
requests for assistance but it is possible to confirm that 89 requests were handled in 2017:
The following chart shows a breakdown by alleged offence for the requests for assistance
handled during 2017:
1
4
6
8
9
23
42
2
4
11
11
6
23
40
5
2
6
3
4
24
45
0 10 20 30 40 50
South America
Australia
Asia
US
Africa
UK
Other Europe
MLA requests handled by region
2014 2015 2016 2017
55
22
12
8
6
3 3 2 2 2 1
2017 MLA requests handled by type of offence
Fraud Money laundering Corruption Murder/GBI
Robbery/theft Other Insider trading Drug related
Organised crime Forgery Kidnapping
20
How assistance was provided
Requests for assistance dealt with during 2017
Notes for the chart on page 21:
Formal assistance – there were 33 occasions during 2017 where formal assistance was
provided to foreign jurisdictions. Formal assistance is where assistance is rendered to a
Requesting Authority pursuant to a Letter of Request, using the legislation referred to in the
table on page 20.
Informal assistance there were four instances where informal assistance was provided to
foreign jurisdictions during 2017. Informal assistance occurs where assistance is rendered
pursuant to a Letter of Request, without recourse to our legislation for instance, where a
witness is willing to provide a statement on a voluntary basis or service of documents is
effected on a Jersey resident on behalf of a foreign jurisdiction.
Requests are occasionally withdrawn by the Requesting Authority in cases where our
assistance is no longer required, for instance, where the defendant is acquitted.
Requests may be referred to another jurisdiction when it becomes clear the relevant
evidence/witness is located there – for example UK bank / credit card records are typically
located in the United Kingdom (even where the cardholder has a Jersey bank account). Where
a request is received for UK credit card records we would inform the Requesting Authority and
offer to re-direct the request as necessary.
Requests are rarely refused. In some cases however it becomes impossible to assist for a
variety of reasons. For instance, the Attorney General may refuse to assist in cases which are
potentially politically motivated.
7
1
3
10
12
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Other (service by Viscount etc)
Civil Asset Recovery (International Co-operation)(Jersey) Law 2007
Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999 as includedin the Schedule to the Proceeds of Crime
(Enforcement of Confiscation Orders)(Jersey)…
Criminal Justice (InternationalCooperation)(Jersey) Law 2001
Investigation of Fraud (Jersey) Law 1991
Legislation used to provide assistance - 2017
21
Notices / Orders issued
The following table shows the number of Notices served/Orders obtained as a result of
assistance provided (Orders being either Saisies judiciaires or those registering External
Confiscation Orders).
Notices are issued by the Attorney General under the Criminal Justice (International Co-
operation)(Jersey) Law 2001 Law for the production of documentary evidence to assist
overseas authorities in criminal investigations and prosecutions. Documentary evidence is
also obtained pursuant to Notices issued by the Attorney General under the Investigation of
Fraud (Jersey) Law 1991 in cases concerning serious and complex fraud, wherever
committed.
Requests are also received from overseas jurisdictions to restrain assets and to register and
enforce External Confiscation Orders. Where a Saisie judiciaire is granted by the court the
assets become vested in the Viscount until such time as either an External Confiscation Order
is registered and enforced, or the Saisie judiciaire is varied or discharged.
4533
7 4
Type of assistance provided - 2017
Pending by end of year Formal assistance provided
Withdrawn/refused/referred Informal assistance provided
3
3
43
11
0 10 20 30 40 50
Civil Asset Recovery (Jersey) Law 2007
Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999 asincluded in the Schedule to the PoC
(EoCO)(Jersey) Regulations 2008
Investigation of Fraud (Jersey) Law 1991
Criminal Justice (Int'l Cooperation)(Jersey)Law 2001
Notices served / Orders obtained - 2017
22
Requests to other jurisdictions
Eight requests for assistance were issued by the Attorney General to foreign jurisdictions
during 2017. Those Requests were made for the purpose of obtaining evidence from overseas
authorities for use in Jersey criminal investigations and criminal prosecutions and asset
restraint or registration of Jersey Confiscation Orders
14
11
5
8
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2014 2015 2016 2017
Requests to other jurisdictions
23
Civil Division
Advice Team
In 2017 the Advice Team played a central role in supporting the Government of Jersey to fulfil
its objectives. In addition to concluding many existing matters in 2017, the Advice Team
opened an average of 22 new matters a month, compared with 20 in 2016 and 14 matters per
month in 2015. The monthly breakdown of new matters is shown in the table below:
The Advice Team has advised the Government of Jersey on a number of high profile issues
relating to Brexit and the protection of Jersey’s international reputation and legal status. In
particular, the Advice Team worked with the Government to achieve a positive outcome to the
OECD Peer Review of its tax information exchange arrangements and successfully handled
English litigation relating to its status relative to the UK and European Union (the case of
Routier v HMRC).
As part of its work on Brexit, the Advice team is leading work on the Brexit legislation
programme in partnership with External Relations and the Law Draftsman's Office to ensure
that no gaps or deficiencies in Jersey law arise when Brexit takes place.
An important part of this work has been carrying out a comprehensive review in 2017 of the
Jersey statute book in order to identify potential deficiencies that may arise from Brexit. The
Law Officers’ Department has co-ordinated work with all affected Government Departments
to prioritise the amendments needed and to develop law drafting instructions in respect of
those which are of the highest priority. The Advice team also worked closely with External
Relations, Ministers and the relevant Scrutiny Panel to prepare the European Union (Repeal
and Amendment) (Jersey) Law, which was debated and passed by the States Assembly in Q1
2018.
Work by the Advice Team on Brexit has included advice on the legal positions with respect to
the rights of citizens, trade in goods and customs arrangements; and the identification of
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
DecNovOctSepAug
JulJun
MayApr
MarFebJan
Advice Team new matters by month 2015/2016/2017
2015 2016 2017
24
potential legal issues for Jersey that may arise from Brexit and future relationships with the
EU and UK.
In relation to domestic and social policy, the Advice Team also provided substantial advice in
2017 on a range of policy and legislative initiatives that are vital to the future health of Islanders
and economic wellbeing of Jersey. In particular, the Advice Team worked closely with the
Health Department on the implementation of the new Mental Health and Capacity Laws and
with the Chief Minister’s Department on the new Data Protection Laws to ensure these can be
brought into force in 2018. The swift preparation and implementation of the later is critical to
the interests of Jersey businesses and continuation of international law enforcement co-
operation.
The Advice Team worked closely with a number of stakeholders and the Government to
prepare legislation to modernise the justice system. As part of this work, Jersey’s first
comprehensive bail legislation was passed in 2017 and the Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law
and Sexual Offences (Jersey) Law were prepared for debate (and subsequently passed by
the States Assembly in Q1 2018). The team also advised Government in 2017 on the future
of legal aid and supported efforts to ensure that legislation protects the interest of taxpayers,
the legal profession and the public at large.
As well as these significant reform initiatives, the Advice Team provided advice to the
Government on the implementation of the outcomes of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry;
and on matters ranging from the collection of tax and payment of social security, to the
provision of adult social services and the application of the existing mental health law.
Laws
The years 2013 to 2017 were busy years for the adoption of primary legislation. The average
in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 was 24. The number of laws passed in 2014 was almost double
the average, suggesting a trend towards the passage of a significant volume of legislation in
any year where a general election takes place. Evidence from Q1 2018 suggests that a similar
increase will occur in 2018.
21
43
22
27 27
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
No. of Laws/Amendment Laws passed by the States
25
The process for preparing legislation and attaining Royal Assent continues to operate
efficiently, illustrated by the high numbers of Laws passed by the States each year and the
gradual increase of these numbers since 2013. The reason for these levels of productivity can
be attributed to a range of factors, including the system of Royal Assent Memoranda (“RAMs”),
good working relationships with officials in the Crown Dependencies Team at the Ministry of
Justice (MoJ) and the work of lawyers at the Law Officers’ Department that have played a
significant role in developing legislation for consideration by the States.
The Attorney General has a duty to report to the Privy Council following the adoption of primary
legislation by the States so that Royal Assent may be sought; and to draw to the attention of
the Privy Council any features of that legislation which might affect the interests of the Crown.
This is carried out by way of RAMs which are transmitted to the Ministry of Justice via His
Excellency the Lieutenant Governor. RAMs are completed by the Law Officers’ Department
expeditiously, with the aim to complete the RAMs and forward them to the Privy Council via
the States Greffe within 10 days of their being forwarded to the Law Officers after being
adopted. A shortage of staff, particularly in the first half of 2017, resulted in fewer RAMs being
forwarded within 10 days, though 88% were forwarded within 30 days.
In years prior to 2013 it was not uncommon to have to wait between six months and a year for
a Law to receive Royal Assent. In 2017 just over 80% of new laws received Royal Assent in
under 3 months.
The following table demonstrates the time taken for a Law to receive Royal Assent following
the transmission of the Royal Assent Memorandum to the UK authorities.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
over 51 days
41 - 50 days
31 - 40 days
21 - 30 days
11 - 20 days
up to 10 days
Time taken to forward RAMs
2014 2015 2016 2017
26
It is very rare for Royal Assent to be given to a Law less than one month after adoption. This
is because Privy Council timetabling requires papers to be submitted to Ministers around four
weeks prior to a sitting so even if the MoJ consider a Law expeditiously, it will usually have to
wait until the following month’s Privy Council sitting.
All four of the Laws adopted in 2017 and forwarded to the Privy Council in December 2017,
have received Royal Assent before the publication of this review.
Orders in Council
Between 2013 and 2016, eight Orders in Council extending UK Acts of Parliament (with
modifications) were registered by the Royal Court.1 The Law Officers’ Department is
responsible for drafting the text of such Orders in Council with legal advisers in the relevant
UK lead department and in the MoJ; and assists in the process for remitting the Orders through
the official channel for registration. Proposals to extend additional aspects of UK immigration
to Jersey legislation have been progressed during 2017.
Rules of Court
Rules of Court are made by the Superior Number of the Royal Court under powers contained
in the Royal Court (Jersey) Law 1948 or powers conferred on it by other legislation. The
drafting function belongs to the Judicial Greffe, but the Law Officers’ Department assists with
the discharge of that function.
Between 2013 and 2017 the number of Rules or Amendments to Rules adopted by the
Superior Number was as follows:
1 Subject to the requirements of Article 31 of the States of Jersey Law 2005
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
> 6 months
5 - 6 months
4 - 5 months
3 - 4 months
2 - 3 months
1 - 2 months
< 1 month
Time taken for a Law to receive Royal Assent after RAM sent to UK authorities
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
27
Hague Convention – service of documents
The Advice Team is also responsible for the administration of requests from overseas
authorities for the service of judicial documents under the 1965 Hague Convention on the
Service of Documents. The number of documents received for service is shown in the table
below:
Commercial and Contentious Team
In 2017 the Commercial and Contentious Team opened an average of 18 new matters a
month, compared with 21 in 2016 and 19 matters per month in 2015. The monthly breakdown
of new matters is shown in the table below:
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Rules or Amendments adopted by Superior Number
67
55 55
62
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2014 2015 2016 2017
Documents received for service under the Hague Convention
28
Commercial / Projects
During the 2017 period, the Commercial and Contentious team has advised in respect of
numerous high profile commercial matters. The team advises on a diverse range of work,
including:
a) contractual/procurement issues and negotiations;
b) legal advice supporting significant States of Jersey programmes/projects;
c) advice on investment documentation;
d) vires/legal powers advice with respect to the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005; and
e) the formation of planning obligation agreements (circa 20+ per annum).
General and planning matters
The Commercial and Contentious team has conduct of all civil litigation matters (excluding
safeguarding cases) for the Department.
The Commercial and Contentious team members are responsible for a wide variety of
contentious work involving the States, Ministers and their Departments, including
administrative appeals, judicial reviews, and various other claims brought against or by public
authorities.
Matters of note from 2017 included:
a) hearings in the Court of Appeal regarding a variety of issues such as income support entitlement, regulation of the taxi-cab industry, the enforceability of a covenant, and Goods and Services Tax;
b) consideration by the Commissioners of Appeal on the jurisdiction to hear a complaint regarding the charging of GST by a third party;
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
Commercial & Contentious Team new matters by month 2015/2016/2017
2015 2016 2017
29
c) judicial reviews of decisions by the Competent Authority for Jersey to issue notices to
persons compelling them to provide information for the purposes of complying with international tax information exchange obligations;
d) breach of contract and defamation litigation.
Employment and Discrimination
The Employment and Discrimination Legal Advisers within the Commercial and Contentious
team act for the States Employment Board (SEB), the largest employer on the Island. The
team provides advice in respect of any employment matters that are raised by or on behalf of
the SEB. In 2017, this included advice in respect of the organisational restructure of the public
service, which remains ongoing.
The team also represents the SEB and Ministers at the Jersey Employment and Discrimination
Tribunal, appearing at case management meetings, interim hearings and full hearings.
In 2017, the team was successful in defending all claims made against the SEB.
Clinical negligence
The Commercial and Contentious team advises the Minister for Health and Social Services in
clinical negligence claims. The team has a dedicated Legal Adviser who works closely with
the Health and Social Services Department in these and related matters.
Information and data protection
The Commercial and Contentious team has continued to provide legal support to the States
Central Freedom of Information Unit in another busy year. The team has been active in the
cross-organisation preparation for implementation of the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018,
providing equivalence to the General Data Protection Regulation.
Debts
The Department also has the responsibility to process debt collection through the courts on
behalf of States Departments. This work represents significant income for the States as a
whole, with over £4.5 million being claimed in 2017. Members of the Commercial and
Contentious Team, as well as advocates from elsewhere in the division, operate a rota system
of appearing in the Petty Debts Court. Members of the team are responsible for regularly
liaising with the Debts Service regarding issues and answering any legal or procedural queries
that Service may have.
The number of summonses sent out decreased in 2015 following the incorporation of Andium
Homes in 2014 and Ports of Jersey in 2015 but, as can be seen in the following tables, the
number of cases that progressed to court increased in 2016 and 2017.
30
Planned increases in the jurisdiction of the Petty Debts Court in 2018 should increase the
amount of cases which are dealt with by that Court.
783
608 650799
101
116 71
128
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
2014 2015 2016 2017
Number of summonses sent
Petty Debts Court Royal Court
448595 636
756
76
98 69
103
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
2014 2015 2016 2017
Number of cases to court
Petty Debts Court Royal Court
31
£1,514,459 £1,501,293 £1,580,403 £1,956,042
£3,319,588
£5,012,015
£1,642,403
£4,414,806
£-
£1,000,000
£2,000,000
£3,000,000
£4,000,000
£5,000,000
£6,000,000
£7,000,000
2014 2015 2016 2017
Value of summonses sent
Petty Debts Court Royal Court
£1,248,070 £1,432,640 £1,542,990 £1,887,177
-£111,891
£3,999,229
£1,541,439
£2,772,839
-£1,000,000
£-
£1,000,000
£2,000,000
£3,000,000
£4,000,000
£5,000,000
£6,000,000
2014 2015 2016 2017
Value of cases to court
Petty Debts Court Royal Court
32
Property Team
The Property Team completed the following transactions before the Royal Court:
Transactions 2014 2015 2016 2017
Property sales (inc sale of rights) 36 42 33 20
Property purchases 1 1 3 9
Deeds of arrangement 6 7 5 3
Party to contracts 12 15 4 10
JEC contract leases 3 2 1 0
Other contract leases 4 2 3 9
Gift, cession and transfers 11 7 8 3
Exchange and counter-exchange 1 2 0 0
Mortgages secured by simple conventional hypothec
0 13 0 0
Mortgages registered as judicial hypothecs
11 0 11 4
Cancellation of agricultural loans 4 0 0 0
Rembours (reimbursements of States loans
18 22 24 15
Gross Values
Sales completed on behalf of the Public or the Crown
£10,149,508 £8,964,138 £8,355,460 £6,365,675
Purchases completed on behalf of the Public or the Crown
£495,000 £577,500 £641,500 £1,162,210
New loans registered – judicial hypothec
£969,682 £1,105,051 £691,500 £135,900
Legal fees recovered £24,000 £36,450 £61,735 £26,100
JEC leases annual receipts £2,096 £1,980 £990 0
Crown leases annual receipts 0 £5,000 £99 0
Public leases annual receipts £2,024 £150 £443,753 £4,926
Considerations on deeds of arrangements
0 £500 £4,500 £10,000
Fees paid to lawyers £15,868 £9,682 £7,000 £81,845 NB: Seabed not included in these figures
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
DecNovOctSepAug
JulJun
MayApr
MarFebJan
Property Team new matters by month 2015/2016/2017
2015 2016 2017
33
Safeguarding Team
During 2017 the team expanded its remit and now provides advice, primarily to the Health &
Social Services Department, in relation to adult as well as children’s safeguarding matters.
The team acts for the Children’s Service in applications for various public law children’s orders
and for adult social services in relation to capacity issues. These matters can be extremely
urgent and time-consuming. Given that these cases concern vulnerable children and adults,
they are of vital importance.
There was a significant increase in referrals relating to specific children in 2016, this figure
has been sustained in 2017. The following chart also shows new referrals for adult cases,
which have been formally recorded since 2016:
0 5 10 15 20 25
Dec
Oct
Aug
Jun
Apr
Feb
Safeguarding Team new matters by month -including Advice files
2015/2016/2017
2015 2016 2017
6155
93 91
13
24
0
20
40
60
80
100
2014 2015 2016 2017
New cases per year - children's cases from 2014, adults' cases from 2017
children adults
34
During 2016 the Children’s Service formally adopted a pre-proceedings process, designed to
avoid court proceedings. The process is triggered when the Children’s Service is considering
issuing care proceedings and is designed to ensure that the child and family are clear about
the nature of the concerns and about what is expected of them to avoid care proceedings
being issued. During 2017 there were eight cases in pre-proceedings, of which three have
entered into proceedings. The remainder have either concluded satisfactorily or are
continuing.
The following table shows the number of cases in care proceedings each year for the last four
years:
Children’s public law cases take a significant amount of court time. The following table shows
the percentage of Royal Court time taken by public law cases in the last four years:
There were 86 hearings in 2017. Of the fourteen final hearings, the shortest period in
proceedings (ie from the date of the application to the last day of the last hearing) was eleven
weeks and the longest was 78 weeks. The average period in proceedings was 45.8 weeks.
Sometimes the time taken to assess parents and other family members for their suitability as
24
36
31
37
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2014 2015 2016 2017
Cases in care proceedings
11.50%
20%
14%
17%
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
2014 2015 2016 2017
Percent of Royal Court time taken by children's public law cases
35
caregivers takes a significant period of time. The following table shows the duration of the
fourteen proceedings which led to final hearings in 2017:
Curatorships
The Civil Division carries out the administrative work associated with the establishment of
curatorships where a person is appointed by the court to look after the financial affairs of
another (the interdict) deemed incapable of doing so themselves through mental incapacity.
The Solicitor General leads this area of work. The figures in the chart below refer to new
curatorships from 2014 to 2017. These figures do not include the work carried out on existing
curatorships such as for changes of curator or for interdicts requesting reinstatement.
Additional work is also generated by contested curatorships, non-resident curators and
curators who fail to carry out their duties satisfactorily.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
over 52 weeks
40 weeks to 52 weeks
26 weeks to 39 weeks
under 26 weeks
Duration of proceedings - commencement to final hearing
2016 2017
68
8984
112
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2014 2015 2016 2017
New curatorships
36
Financial resources
As a non-ministerial department, the Law Officers’ Department receives funding from the
States of Jersey and adheres to the Financial Directions as set out by the Treasurer of the
States under the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005.
In accordance with the savings requirements of the Medium Term Financial Plans (MTFP1
and MTFP2) the Department’s available budget was reduced in 2017 to £8,280,000. Savings
plans within the Department, particularly in the area of Court and Case Costs where more
legal work is now carried out in-house, ensured that the work of the Department remained
within budget in 2017, as it has in each year of MTFP1 and MTFP2.
9,222 9,274
8,494 8,280
8,445 8,718
7,268
7,643
5,000
5,500
6,000
6,500
7,000
7,500
8,000
8,500
9,000
9,500
2014 2015 2016 2017
Near cash revenue expenditure to 2017£000
budget actual
37
Appendix 1 – Law Officers’ Department Organisation Chart 2017
Notes
Headcount in this chart is by individual, not by ‘Full Time Equivalent’ (FTE). The headcount was correct at 31 December 2017
and does not include authorised vacancies.
AA: Administration Assistant
AG: Attorney General
ALA: Assistant Legal Adviser
A&SM: Administration & Systems Manager
CC: Conveyancing Clerk
CPO: Court Proceedings Officer
ECCU: Economic Crime and Confiscations Unit
FM: Finance Manager
HoC: Head of Conveyancing
IRO: Information and Records Officer
LA: Legal Adviser
MLA: Mutual Legal Assistance
PO: Police Officer Serious Crime Section
SC: Senior Conveyancer
SG: Solicitor General
SLA: Senior Legal Adviser
Criminal Division Director x 1
Criminal
Courts
SLA x 2
LA x 7
ALA x 5
ECCU
SLA x 2
LA x 2
ALA x 1
Admin
FM x 1
A&SM x 1
CPO x 1
IRO x 1
AA x 2
Commercial
&
Contentious
SLA x 1
LA x 6
ALA x 1
MLA
SLA x 1
LA x 2
PO x 1
ALA x 1
Safeguarding
SLA x 1
LA x 3
ALA x 2
Advice
SLA x 1
LA x 5
ALA x 2
Property
HoC x 1
SC x 2
CC x 1
Administration Director x 1
Civil Division Director x 1
Attorney General Solicitor General
Secretary to AG/SG and to Legal Advisers x 9
ALA to AG x 1
