Constitution of Jersey
England, and later the United Kingdom, passively exploited the strategic benefits of the Channel Islands.
In 1946, the States of Jersey drew up plans for change following the German Occupation, which were examined by a Committee of the Privy Council.
[25] In 2010, the States assembly agreed to hold elections for all seats on a single date and to cut the number of Senators from 12 to 8.
[28] In December 2010, a committee chaired by Lord Carswell recommended changes to the role of the Bailiff—in particular, that the Bailiff should cease to be the presiding officer over the States Assembly.
[29][citation needed] In April 2011, Deputy Le Claire lodged au Greffe a request for the Chief Minister to produce, for debate, a draft written "Constitution for Jersey";[30] the States Assembly did not support this idea.
They recommended that the number of portfolios was too large, and should be reduced; that for the committees there should be established a number of departments (as few as seven); the political direction of each department should be the purview of a Minister and one or two other members; that a Council of Ministers should be created, invested with sufficient powers; that a Treasury Department should be established to take over the Resources role of the Policy and Resources Committee and that new Scrutiny committees should be established to scrutinize the Council of Ministers.
[1]: 6–7 Within the United Kingdom government, responsibility for relations between Jersey (and the other Crown dependencies) and the United Kingdom lie in the Crown Dependencies Branch within the International Directorate of the Ministry of Justice, which has a core team of three officials, with four others and four lawyers available when required.
In the 1980s, there were discussions about a financial contribution from Jersey towards the United Kingdom's costs in relation to defence and international representation.
[34] In March 2009, the House of Lords Constitution Committee criticised UK government proposals in the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill dealing with the Common Travel Area, concluding that "the policy-making process ... has not been informed by any real appreciation of the constitutional status of the Crown dependencies or the rights of free movement of Islanders".
[36][37] According to constitutional convention, United Kingdom legislation may be extended to Jersey by Order in Council at the request of the Island's government.
[38] Although Jersey is for most day-to-day purposes entirely self-governing in relation to its internal affairs, the Crown retains residual responsibility for the "good government" of the island.
[33]: Chapter 3 The UK government has consistently adopted a "non-interventionist policy", and following the "high degree of consensus amongst academics, legal advisers, politicians and officials" would only intervene "in the event of a fundamental breakdown in public order or the rule of law, endemic corruption in the government or other extreme circumstances".
