Centeniers’ role may breach human rights

Friday 28th September 2007, 12:00AM BST.

A SCRUTINY panel has called for a review into whether the role of Centeniers in the Magistrate’s Court is human rights compliant.

In a report published today, the Education and Home Affairs panel say that the Attorney General and the Home Affairs department should look at whether the Magistrate’s Court system abides by the European Convention on Human Rights. Their comments come after evidence given during their review by an eminent UK lawyer, who said that the role of both Centeniers and the Magistrate in Jersey’s courts contravened Article 6 of the convention. Jonathan Cooper told the panel that the Jersey system, which uses Centeniers instead of professional prosecutors to present cases, denied defendants the right to a fair trial.

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