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Information and public services for the Island of Jersey

L'înformâtion et les sèrvices publyis pouor I'Île dé Jèrri

The Parish Hall Enquiry: A community-based alternative to formal court processing in the Channel Isl

Produced by the Probation and After-care (Non-executives and legal departments)
Authored by Helen Miles, Jersey Probation and After Care Service and University of Wales, Swansea and published on 31 Dec 2004
Prepared internally, no external cost

Summary

​The Parish Hall Enquiry system in Jersey is of great antiquity and, like the Honorary Police system upon which it depends, its origins lie in very longestablished forms of communal organization. Presided over by a ‘centenier’ (an elected, unpaid parish official) in the local parish hall, the current system has evolved through 800 years of customary practice. Enquiries have no basis in statute law and sanctions levied at Parish Hall are not considered to be criminal convictions. The centenier is empowered to enquire into the circumstances surrounding any offence committed within the boundaries of the parish, adjudicate upon the facts presented, and propose an appropriate penalty.


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