Flag flying days in Jersey: dates, occasions and protocol

Requests to fly flags are made by the Bailiff in respect of “government buildings” which include not only buildings owned by the Crown and the Government but also Parish Halls and all buildings occupied by agencies of the States or other governmental organisations.

The request is to fly the Jersey flag which was granted to the Bailiwick by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Royal Warrant in December 1980. It is the flag assigned by the Sovereign for use in His Bailiwick.

The Union flag may also be flown, although it is to be noted that, where both the Jersey flag and the Union flag are flown, precedence should generally be given to the Jersey flag which the Sovereign has expressly decreed to be the Island’s flag. On certain occasions when it is desired to underline the links between the Bailiwick and the United Kingdom (e.g. Liberation Day and Remembrance Sunday) it is customary to fly the Union flag as well as the Jersey flag.

Whenever the Union flag is flown, care must be exercised to ensure that it is flown the correct way up. (The broader white diagonal stripe should be above the red diagonal stripe in the half nearest the flagpole).

Unless advised to the contrary, flags should be flown from 8am until sunset on the day in question. Flags should not be raised in advance of the day, nor should they be allowed to remain up afterwards.

When flags are to be flown at “half-mast”, this means that the flag should be flown two-thirds of the way up the flagstaff – not half-way up. (It should be flown at least the depth of the flag itself from the top of the pole and in some circumstances more, depending on the proportion of the flag to flagstaff).

Requests to fly flags at half-mast will come through the official channel; those requests are likely to include the days of funerals of members of the Royal Family, the funerals of foreign rulers, the funerals of Prime Ministers and ex-Prime Ministers, as well as other occasions of national significance. On days when a request to fly flags coincides with funerals or other sombre occasions, the presumption is that flags should be flown normally unless a specific instruction is given to fly them at half-mast.

Flags may be flown on other occasions in addition to those specified. However, care should be taken to ensure that this does not lead to a situation where flags are left up in advance of, or after, official flag days.

It is understood that the flying of flags over a weekend – given that raising them in advance is not acceptable – may result in difficulties for certain Government departments. It is a matter for the discretion of those departments but the Bailiff hopes that the nature of the building and the prominence of the flag-pole will be significant considerations in assessing whether or not to fly flags over the week-end. Flags will fly from the States/Royal Court building as seat of the Island’s judiciary and legislature on all official flag days.

Although these notes refer specifically to “government buildings”, the Bailiff would encourage all Islanders who are able to respond to significant events reflected in the list, to fly the Jersey flag or the Union flag as indicated above.