Eleventh Annual Report of the Jersey Law Commission.

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

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demonstrating that good governance, and clear lines of accountability and authority, are in place around decisions-making – including the reasons and basis on which a decision is made, and the action required to implement a decision
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A decision made (05/06/2008) regarding: Eleventh Annual Report of the Jersey Law Commission.

Decision Reference: MD-C-2008-0011
Decision Summary Title :	L:\M O G R\Chief Minister\Ministerial decisions\Law Commission 2007 report 20.05.2008.doc		Date of Decision Summary:	29th May 2008
Decision Summary Author:	Kate Power Project and Research Officer		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Jersey Law Commission: Report for 2007		Date of Written Report:	20th May 2008
Written Report Author:	Jersey Law Commission		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Elventh Annual Report of the Jersey Law Commission
Decision(s): The Chief Minister noted the Jersey Law Commission’s Annual Report for 2007 and agreed that it should be laid before the States Assembly.
Reason(s) for Decision: In 1996 the States approved a proposition to establish The Jersey Law Commission. Pursuant to the proposition, the Commission has forwarded its annual Report for presentation to the States.
Resource Implications: None.
Action required: Request the Greffier of the States to ensure that the Report is laid before the States Assembly at the earliest opportunity
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Eleventh Annual Report of the Jersey Law Commission.

STATES OF JERSEY

Jersey Law Commission: Report for 2007

Presented to the States on ## ## 2008
by the Chief Minister

STATES GREFFE

REPORT

The Jersey Law Commission

The Jersey Law Commission was set up by a Proposition laid before the States of Jersey and approved by the States Assembly on 30th July 1996.

The Commissioners are:	Mr. David Lyons, Chairman, English Solicitor
	Advocate Alan Binnington
	Mr. Clive Chaplin, Solicitor
	Advocate Kerry Lawrence
	Advocate John Kelleher
	Mr. Peter Hargreaves, Chartered Accountant

The Secretary is:	Ms. Elaine McGoogan

The address of the Jersey Law Commission is Whiteley Chambers, Don Street, St. Helier, Jersey, JE4 9WG

Contents of this Report

Foreword by the Chairman

PART I	The Eleventh Year

PART II	Review of Topic Reports and other issues considered by the Commission

PART III	The cost of the Commission

PART IV	Budget

PART V	Commissioners

PART VI	General

APPENDIX A	The rôle of the Commission

APPENDIX B	The Commission’s working method

The Jersey Law Commission Eleventh Annual Report 2007

To the Chief Minister of the States of Jersey

I have the honour to present to you, on behalf of the Jersey Law Commission, pursuant to the Proposition to establish the Commission approved by the States on 30th July 1996, our Eleventh Annual Report covering the activities of the Commission in the calendar year 2007.

Signed

David Lyons, Chairman

PART I – The Eleventh Year

Ten meetings were held during the year and work was completed on our review of the Law of Charities and the Law on Security Over Immoveable Property. At the end of the year, reports on these two major topics were drafted and are now ready for printing. We look forward to discussing these Reports further with the Legislation Advisory Panel.

We also commenced and completed a Consultation Paper and Report on Trusts of Jersey Immoveable Property and, again, we look forward to discussing this matter with the Panel after publication of our Report.

Work is continuing on three other major topics which we were unable to complete during the year although the Consultation Paper on the Jersey Law of Partnership is now ready for printing. We are anticipating issuing a Consultation Paper on Prescription and Limitation in the next month and Advocates Binnington and Kelleher are hopeful that they will be able to complete a further report on the Law of Contract to illustrate how the Commission’s proposals contained in its report dated February 2004 can be implemented.

In addition to these major topics, the Commission is also looking at (a) amendments to or abolition of the Limited Partnerships Law and (b) the Bankruptcy (Désastre) (Jersey) Law 1990 where we await further comments from the Panel.

PART II – Topic Reports and other issues considered by the Commission

Since its inception in 1996 the Commission has considered and/or issued reports on the following:

The Rights of Beneficiaries to Information Regarding a Trust
The Best Evidence Rule
The Jersey Law of Real Property
Dobson -v- Public Services Committee of the States of Jersey
Jersey Rules of Légitime
The Law on Tutelles
The Law of Contract
The Jersey Law of Partnership
The Law of Charities
The Law on Security over Immoveable Property
Prescription and Limitation
Trusts of Jersey Immoveable Property
Executors and Immoveable Property

PART III – The Cost of the Commission

(i) The Commission’s resources are made available by the States of Jersey through the office of the Chief Minister, based on budgets submitted by the Commission.

(ii) The Commission spent a total of £5,843 in 2007 from a budget of £34,000.

PART IV – Budget

(i) Budget for 2008

The Commission’s budget for 2008 has been set at £34,744.

PART V – Commissioners

There were no new Commissioners appointed in 2007.

PART VI – General

The Commission looks forward to continue working with the Chief Minister through the Legislation Advisory Panel.

Signed

David Lyons, Chairman

Clive Chaplin

Alan Binnington

Kerry Lawrence

Peter Hargreaves

John Kelleher

APPENDIX A

The rôle of the Commission

The Commission is a body established by the States of Jersey. Although the Commission works in close consultation with the Legislation Committee, which also organised its funding and acts as its channel of communication with the States, it is an independent body which reports will be made available, unaltered, to the public.

The rôle of the Commission is defined in its terms of reference, which are set out as follows in the proposition establishing it:

It shall be the duty of the Commission to identify aspects of Jersey law which it considers should be examined with a view to their development and reform, including in particular the elimination of anomalies, the repeal of obsolete and unnecessary enactments, the reduction of the number of separate enactments and generally the simplification and modernisation of the law, and to those ends:

(a) to receive and consider any proposals for the reform of the law which may be made or referred to them;

(b) to prepare and submit to the Legislation Committee from time to time programmes for the examination of different branches of the law with a view to reform; and

(c) to undertake, pursuant to any such recommendations approved by the Legislation Committee, the examination of particular branches of the law, such consultation thereon as the Commission shall think fit, and the formulation by means of draft bills or otherwise of proposals for such reform.

APPENDIX B

Upon accepting a topic for review the Commission appoints one of its members to act as the Topic Commissioner to conduct and co-ordinate all of the Commission’s work on that topic. On his recommendation the Commission seeks to appoint a Jersey lawyer currently practising in that field as Topic Practitioner to assist him generally and to ensure that the Commission’s work remains relevant to the issues actually arising in day-to-day practice. The Topic Commissioner is not paid by the Commission and in practice the Topic Practitioner has not asked for payment, although payment has been made in some cases where necessary. Any necessary legal research will usually be carried out by others: either by professional researchers under contract or by experts willing to give their time as a public service.

The procedure for the review of each topic will commonly fall into the following steps:

1. finding out whether there is a problem, and if there is, defining exactly what it is;

2. researching and summarising the existing law relevant to the topic;

3. suggesting how the relevant law might be changed to solve the problem;

4. preparing and publishing a consultative document based on items 1, 2 and 3;

5. receiving and discussing representations made in response to the consultative document;

6. preparing and publishing a final report culminating in either a detailed brief for the Law Draftsman or in a draft Law prepared in consultation with the Law Draftsman.


	R.##/2008

2008	Price code: B	R.##