SOURCES OF JERSEY LAW - 19 August 1998

In the year 1847, and again in 1861, Commissioners were appointed to enquire into the Criminal Law of Jersey and the Civil, Municipal and Ecclesiastical Laws of the Island. In their reports, the Commissioners identified two principal sources of Jersey law, namely Customary Law and Legislation.

When researching sources of legislation, the Jersey lawyer will consider the various Royal Charters referred to in the appendix to the Commissioners Criminal Report of 1847 in addition to those Laws passed by the States of Jersey which are contained in the "Recueil des Lois". The Jersey Practitioner must also have regard to miscellaneous 'triennial' regulations in addition to those Acts of the British Parliament which are expressly extended to the Channel Islands by Orders in Council.

When researching matters of customary law, the Jersey Practitioner may be required to consider law dating from as long ago as 1204, the "Ancienne Coutume". The Ancienne Coutume is recited in "La Grande Coutume du Pays et Duche de Normandie", a work cited in the 1539 edition of Rouille's Latin commentary.

In or about 1585, the law of continental Normandy was reduced to writing in the compilation known as the Coutume Reformée. The Coutume Reformée has been considered at length by the Privy Council as evidence of the customary law of Jersey before the separation of the Channel Islands from the Duchy of Normandy. Amongst those French commentators on the Coutume Reformée, the works of such luminaries as Terrien and Basnage are regularly referred to by local practitioners researching the finer and more esoteric points of Jersey law.

Jersey's own legal commentators include Le Geyt who wrote his works in the 1700s and Poingdestre who wrote on "Les Lois et Coutumes" of Jersey.

Although there is debate in regard to the extent to which French Law influences the law of Jersey today, it is clear that the local judiciary are influenced by French commentators such as Pothier who is regularly cited in judgements given by the Royal Court.

Naturally, in light of our relationship with England, it is inevitable that English law should have played a large part in the development of Jersey law, particularly over the last 50 years. Nonetheless, there would appear to be a degree of apprehension amongst the local judiciary which resists wholesale adoption of English law principles. In the recent case of Selby -v- Romeril, the current Bailiff, Sir Phillip Bailhache Q.C., has made clear his view that Jersey Contract Law has its roots in French Contract Law.

Jersey law is, therefore, a curious amalgam of Norman, French and English law forming a quite unique and separate jurisprudence.

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