Crown Officer review panel questions Bailiff
Tuesday 4th May 2010, 2:59PM BST.
The Bailiff, Michael Birt, addresses the panel. Picture: David Ferguson (00950958)
THE Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff are being questioned today by a panel investigating the roles of Jersey’s top law officers.
The Bailiff, Michael Birt, and Deputy Bailiff, William Bailhache, will face questions from an independent panel chaired by the former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.
Lord Carswell was nominated by the Council of Ministers to examine the roles of the Bailiff, Attorney General and Solicitor General.He is sitting on a panel with Islanders Marie-Louise Backhurst, Dr Sandra Mountford, Ian Strang and Geoffrey Crill.
A number of people have already given evidence in the review of the Crown Officers’ roles – including Attorney General Tim Le Cocq and acting police chief David Warcup.
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Should this not be completely independant, a review by top people from the legal world with no connection to Jersey and with an impeckable record of impartiality. I see the chairman was the choice of the C.O.M., and the four members of the panel are all local,and very much members of the club. No disrespect to any of the panel members but with the widely held belief that our top legal system is failing at every turn, this looks to me like a friendly get-together including the top people who are being interviewed. Please law officers, explain to me where the INDEPENDANCE of this panel manifests itself.
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Why would they wish to interview the acting chief of police and not the actual chief of police, after all he has not been in the island for long and has only a limited experience of the Jersey setup.
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Q. what role could you possibly have crown officers…in a democracy that is….
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This a a total sham and a disgrace.
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Matin#1 Surely you are not suggesting that this could be another ‘Ourchap’ report. Shame on you!
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Actually the majority of Jersey People support the role of bailiff and don’t want to see any changes. Indeed somebody has to undertake the role of the bailiff as a nonvoting speaker of the States and also as titular head of the judiciary so what are the alternatives?
Have the States Elect a speaker which I assume would be Senator Le Sueur
Employ two equally unelected but very expensive Civil Servants.
Appoint an ex States member to undertake the role of speaker – possible Mr Walker or Mr Syvret and have the legal society appoint a top advocate at the going rate for the judicial side.
Have the States recommend a prominent local person with an appropriate legal qualification and substantial legal experience, who has demonstrated considerable commitment, prepared to take on the role at a fraction of the “going rate” and subjected to scrutiny by the UK authorities who will independently vet and ultimately give approval for the appointment.
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Turkeys voting for xmas me thinks
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“Actually the majority of Jersey People support the role of bailiff and don’t want to see any changes”. Would you mind just giving us a source for this? I assume you’ve done a survey.
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6.Terry Le Sueur as States speaker…you sure…let me draw your attention to the latest publicity Gaff “The Humans” speech…I am not sure what it is about Jersey,we have a P.R. dept. and so called advisors..yet at home and abroad we constantlt shoot ourselves in the foot,as the Private eye article once said “Anorexia Charismatica” a lack of charisma, not worldly , No P.R. savvy..why do we keep on letting these people embarras us on the world stage.better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and prove it.
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I hate to say it but one of the panel members is related to a former bailiff.
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It is a joke.
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Kathy 10.
So it’s Cuban cigars to celebrate and pats on the back all round then…typical!
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comedy show
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Stage managed buffoonery
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Sanity (6) Actually the majority of Jersey People support the role of bailiff and don’t want to see any change
Are you suggesting a referendum to gauge the ‘actual’ majority view? Is the Sanity view the minority view? How is anybody to know? Read the JEP?
Too many questions, we think.
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I can just see the panel putting trenchant, robust and searching questions to the Bailif and his chums. I can also see the panel putting aside personal acquaintances to ask potentially embarrassing questions. Pigs might fly! How much is this ludicrous charade costing the public?
One other thing; many people in the legal profession and elsewhere won’t comment because their names will be published and clearly made known to the Bailiff and his chums. Hardly good for one’s professional career, especially when you might be in court before the Bailiff the following day! The result; a whitewash where many people with first hand observations feel unable to come forward. The panel will report that there was little adverse comment and we can all congratulate ourselves on how rosy the garden looks.
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I’m laughing at the comments here…I wonder how their eminences react to such..? “I say Rodders..the natives are getting a tad uppity at the mo’ what?”.or do they slink back in denial and comfort themselves by calling us peasants.how awful to think you are so important when the real folks find you invalid,and out of time and support…..”Well Tarquin old chap ..may have to fall on ones sword….Er you have had it cleaned for one haven’t you….
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The peasants are indeed quite revolting. The problem is, we have a situation where complaint is made about the system. We know that there is something wrong. Those being interviewed know that we know that there is something wrong. They nonetheless cling doggedly onto the arcahaic and extensive powers which they hold because they also know that there is nothing that anyone can do about it.
These people are totally unaccountable. They will say that they account to the Queen, but it is clear that any letter of complaint to her majesty would swuftly be met with an official, polite and diplomatically unhelpful response which would take the matter nowhere.
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@ Sanity. It seems that the majority of people here disagree with you.
Perhaps you have picked the wrong screen name?
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A good place for the panel to start would be to immediately create an appointments commission. At the moment, crown appointments are made by a panel “chaired by the Bailiff”. This must be open to abuse, particularly where the Bailiff, as a judge, should not be interfering with the prosecution service in any way, least of all by influencing the appointment of the Attorney General and Solicitor General.
Then there is the appointment of the Bailiff himself. The post was not advertised. The appointment was presented to the public as a fait accompli. How was the appointment made? No one except the closed cadre of those involved knows the answer to that question. It is certainly not something to which the public, as paymaster and consumer of judicial services, was party.
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Martin @1 puts it so well, I could not have put it better or agree more, and Sanity@6 is obviously a spokesperson for the bailiffs chamber.
I never believed it before because I assumed Jersey was a pretty honest and democratic island. The more I read on blogs from interesting people expressing their opinion, the more I understand what is meant by ” The Jersey Way “.
It obviously was, and is designed to ring fence and pamper a chosen few in our society. I will eat my words if Lord Carswell and his “local team ” Ask for the rolls of the Bailiff to be split and deep changes of the crown officers to underpin accountability and democracy.
Davey.
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