ATTORNEY GENERAL S REVIEW · arising from custom or statute are performed to a high standard and in...

ATTORNEY GENERAL’S

REVIEW

2007

Attorney General’s Review 2006


ATTORNEY GENERAL’S REVIEW 2007

CONTENTS Page Section 1 Introduction by H.M. Attorney General Section 2 About the Law Officers' Department .................................................... 1 Section 3 Objectives of the Law Officers’ Department.......................................... 5 Section 4 Statistical Report on the Work of the Department in 2007 ..................... 7 Serious Crime Group.................................................................................................. 8 Constitution, Human Rights, European and Legislation (‘CHEL’) Group..................................................................................... 14 General Group......................................................................................................... 22 Office of the Legal Adviser to the Police .................................................................. 37 Conveyancing Group................................................................................................ 39 Section 5 2007 Business Plan Activities – Report on Progress ............................ 42 Section 6 Accounting Officer’s Statement .......................................................... 44 Appendix Current Organisation of the Department


SECTION 1

INTRODUCTION BY H.M. ATTORNEY GENERAL

I have pleasure in introducing the Attorney General’s Review of 2007. At the time of writing this Introduction, the island community has the child abuse investigation hanging over it. This Review shows the Law Officers' Department to be under fairly consistent pressure and any reader of past Reviews will readily appreciate there has been a constant annual plea for more resources – a plea which has not received political approval and indeed I am beginning to think the machinery of government is so constituted as to make it impossible to

achieve such permanent increases as are in my judgement necessary to recruit and retain staff in the numbers we need. Hopefully, the impending review by the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the discussions around the 2009 Business Plan will enable the States to focus on what is needed to deliver a comprehensive legal service. Nonetheless, the Council of Ministers has made it clear that resources will be provided for the child abuse investigation and prosecutions, if any, and I am grateful for that. I have retained external Crown Advocates for this purpose and I have no doubt those Crown Advocates handling the prosecution(s) have secured advice from UK based barristers some of whom have specialised in historic child abuse cases. Assessing the evidence in this type of case is often problematic and it is important for the complainants, for the accused and for the island community that the work is done with the highest degree of professionalism, as I have every confidence will indeed be the position. I would like to add that extreme comment in some quarters has unquestionably added a new and unhealthy element to Island life. Allegations about institutional cover up and supposed conflict of interest may have led some people to the view that there is doubt about whether prosecutions will be brought and justice will be done. Those who have formed fixed views without enquiring into the facts will no doubt retain those views. But to the people of Jersey, I will say this. The prosecuting authorities are not responsible for any historic cover ups. There is no basis whatsoever for suggesting that the prosecution will not take all the steps it should take in relation to the child abuse enquiry. I repeat the commitment I have given already – the prosecution service is doing, and will continue to do, what it is supposed to do, namely to


look objectively at the evidence, follow the law and prosecute without fear or favour if the evidence is there to support a prosecution. That is the first step in ensuring justice is done, justice both for the complainants and he accused, justice of which the Island community can be proud. I would like as usual to pay tribute to all members of the Department, lawyers, conveyancers and support staff alike, who have had another very busy year, made especially so by the departure in January 2007 of Crown Advocate Cyril Whelan and in July of Crown Advocate Sally Sharpe, neither of whom could be replaced during the year for financial reasons. Both, however, have made very significant contributions to the work of the Department in the past and I am pleased to have this opportunity of being able to thank them publicly for all they have done. William J Bailhache Q.C. H. M. Attorney General

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SECTION 2

ABOUT THE LAW OFFICERS’ DEPARTMENT

WHO WE ARE

The Department employed a total of 38.72 full time equivalent staff at December 31st 2007, organised to deliver services as follows:

• The Attorney General is in overall charge of the Department.

• The Solicitor General deputises for the Attorney General as necessary and is also head of the General and Conveyancing Groups.

• The Serious Crime Group is responsible for the prosecution of serious crime in the Island with particular emphasis on the investigation and prosecution of financial crime, including money laundering. It is also responsible for co-operation with overseas authorities in the investigation and prosecution of crime in other jurisdictions.

• The Constitution, Human Rights, European and Legislation (“CHEL”) Group , as its title suggests, deals with matters concerning the constitutional relationship between the Island and the UK, as well as the Island’s international obligations, human rights advice, applicability of EC law and Jersey legislation. This latter subject includes advice to Ministers and their Departments on proposals for new legislation (including advice on human rights compatibility), preparation of legal reports for the Privy Council, giving drafting instructions for some major new legislation including the preparation of Orders in Council extending Acts of Parliament to the Island, and advice as to whether such extensions are necessary or desirable. The Group also has responsibility for drafting Rules of Court and

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providing advice and support to the Legislation Advisory Panel.

• The General Group, headed by the Solicitor General, deals with advice to Ministers and their Departments in areas not covered by other Groups of the Department, less serious criminal prosecutions, curatorships, various childcare and family matters and a wide variety of other legal work.

• Members of the Office of the Legal Adviser to the Police work closely with both States and Honorary officers, providing advice and assistance in the early stages of investigations and prosecuting cases in the Magistrate’s Court.

• The Conveyancing Group deals with all sales and purchases of property by States departments, and many other property related enquiries.

• Support is provided to each group by a small number of staff who deal with the ancillary matters essential to the smooth running of an organisation such as finance, information management, IT, human resources matters etc.

WHAT WE DO

The overall aim of the Department is to provide efficient and effective legal advice to the Crown and the States, including Ministers, Departments and where possible Scrutiny Panels, and to provide and oversee a high quality criminal prosecution service and to assist the Attorney General in the performance of his other duties.

OUR VISION /VALUES

The Department supports and subscribes to the Core Values of the States as set out in the Five Year Vision for the Public Sector and agreed by the States:

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• Treat our customers and each other as individuals, with respect, dignity and courtesy;

• Provide a publicly accountable service that is responsive, listens and learns and acts in the best interest of Jersey;

• Act with integrity, professionalism and respect confidentiality;

• Provide choice and added value, making a difference and taking pride in all that we do;

• Respond in an appropriate, honest and trustworthy manner; be reliable, consistent and fair;

• Demonstrate the power of teams, working creatively and innovatively;

• Feel valued and appreciated, as do our customers.

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SECTION 3

OBJECTIVES OF THE LAW OFFICERS’ DEPARTMENT 1. To provide objective strategic advice to the States of Jersey directly

or through the Council of Ministers having regard to constitutional and legal developments.

2. To provide objective legal advice of a high quality within reasonable timescales to the Crown, the States of Jersey and all others it serves.

3. To provide and oversee a high quality prosecution service working in the interests of justice and contributing to a reduction in the level of crime in the Island.

4. To ensure that the interests of the Crown and the States of Jersey are protected by acting on their behalf in civil proceedings brought by or against the Crown or the States.

5. To ensure that the functions and duties of the Attorney General arising from custom or statute are performed to a high standard and in a timely manner.

6. To offer effective assistance within reasonable timescales to overseas judicial and law enforcement agencies in criminal matters.

7. To provide an efficient conveyancing service in relation to property matters affecting the Crown and the States of Jersey.

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SECTION 4

STATISTICAL REVIEW OF THE WORK OF THE

DEPARTMENT IN 2007 This section sets out the work carried out by the Department during 2007 and is organised along the lines of the different groups into which the Department itself is organised. This is the third year in which the information is provided in this format. The Department is divided into five groups. These are:

• Serious Crime Group;

• Constitution, Human Rights, European and Legislation

(“CHEL”) Group;

• General Group;

• Legal Adviser to the Police and

• Conveyancing Group

The work of each group during 2007 will be described in turn.

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Serious Crime Group The Group consists of a Principal Legal Adviser, one Senior Legal Adviser, one Legal Adviser, two Assistant Legal Advisers and a full time secretary. The Serious Crime group is responsible for the prosecution of serious crime in the Island with particular emphasis on the investigation and prosecution of financial crime, including money laundering. Additionally, it is responsible for co-operation with overseas authorities in the investigation and prosecution of crime in other jurisdictions.

Interaction with Foreign Courts On the 25th January, 2007, interviews of Jersey witnesses conducted by a Norwegian delegation of prosecutors and police commenced pursuant to Article 2 of the Investigation of Fraud (Jersey) Law, 1991. The interviews lasted a number of days. In February a hearing by way of live video link with Australia was arranged pursuant to Article 5 of the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) (Jersey) Law, 2001. The proceedings lasted over 3 weeks. The defendants in the Australian criminal trial were later convicted of breaches of the Australian Corporation Act and sentenced to substantial terms of imprisonment. Also in April a live video-link with Southwark Crown Court was arranged to permit a Jersey resident witness to give evidence in an English criminal trial. A South African delegation of prosecutors and officials conducted an interview with a Jersey witness pursuant to Article 2 of the Investigation of Fraud (Jersey) Law, 1991.

Criminal Prosecutions An 82 year old accused pleaded guilty to historic charges of serious sexual abuse (indecent assault and procuring an act of gross indecency) involving his daughter and grand-daughter. He was sentenced on the 9th February, 2007, to a term of 3 years’ imprisonment. An application for leave to appeal against sentence was subsequently dismissed. In March the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal against an Order made by the Royal Court striking out an Order of Justice brought against the Attorney General by three witnesses in the ongoing Peter Michel money laundering trial. The Order of Justice had contained interim injunctions against the Attorney General preventing him from taking their evidence.

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Former local accountant Peter Michel was convicted of money laundering (assisting another to retain the benefit of criminal conduct, contrary to Article 32(1)(a) of the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law, 1999). He was sentenced on the 18th June, 2007, to a total of 6 years’ imprisonment. A Confiscation Order in the sum of £9.7 million followed with a 3 year prison term in default. An application for leave to appeal against conviction was subsequently granted but the appeal was dismissed. Mr. Michel’s co-accused Simone Gallichan was likewise convicted of money laundering. She was sentenced to 120 hours’ Community Service. During the year, two Portuguese nationals received sentences of 3 and 5 years’ imprisonment respectively and substantial periods of disqualification following guilty pleas to offences of causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs. Also in 2007 criminal proceedings were commenced in the Royal Court against Raj Bhojwani – a man linked to the former Abacha régime in Nigeria. A not guilty plea has been entered and it is expected he will be tried during 2008. During 2007 Dr. Moyano was indicted before the Royal Court in what is the first gross negligence medical manslaughter case in Jersey. A not guilty plea has been entered and it is anticipated the case will also proceed to trial during 2008.

International Meetings In March a member of the Section attended at the Headquarters of Eurojust in The Hague for the purposes of a multi-agency co-ordination meeting regarding a German Request for assistance in a serious fraud case. During the same visit a further co-ordination meeting took place regarding two outstanding Polish Requests for assistance. Also in March a member of the Section attended the meeting of the Channel Islands-French Law Enforcement Alliance hosted in Guernsey. It is anticipated the Section will be represented at the 2008 meeting to be hosted by the French authorities in Caen, Normandy. In June members of the Section made a presentation to visiting officials of the Italian Guardia Di Finanza. This followed on from an earlier visit by the Attorney General and the Director General of the Jersey Financial Services Commission to law enforcement agencies in Rome.

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In December a member of the Section visited the Belgian Embassy in London for a co-ordination meeting relating to a Belgian Request for assistance and a member of the Section attended the Mutual Legal Assistance Forum at the Home Office in London.

International Co-operation

In the past year, 16 new letters of request for assistance have been sent by Jersey to other jurisdictions (2006 – 6) with a further two on hold at present. The Laws most frequently used to render assistance are the Investigation of Fraud (Jersey) Law 1991 (“the Fraud Law”) and the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) (Jersey) Law 2001 (“the 2001 Law”). The total number of new Requests received from overseas jurisdictions (and the Notices/Order served as a result) for the period 1999 to 2007 is set out on the following table: 1999 2000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Total Requests received

74 119 120 94 104 101 107 77 77

Total notices / orders*

129 120 181 103 247 219 182 184 113

*These figures include notices and orders in respect of on-going investigations begun in previous years.

This information is shown graphically below.

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0

50

100

150

200

250

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Total RequestsReceivedTotal Notices/orders

Requests for Assistance and Notices/Orders Issued

In addition to the 77 new requests, 67 Supplementary Requests or pre-2007 Requests were dealt with during the year. The total number of requests handled during 2007 was therefore 144. The new requests were dealt with as follows:

Assistance given 42 Under consideration 21 Waiting for additional information 11 Unable to give assistance 1 Insufficient information 1 Request discontinued 1 Total 77

Breakdown of Requests Received During the course of the year, assistance was provided to a variety of countries following consideration of new requests for assistance as well as supplementary requests where assistance had previously been provided (or requests received towards the end of the previous year). The chart below shows that almost half the new requests received during 2007 were from authorities based in either the United Kingdom or the United States. 27% of the requests in the category ‘Other’ were received from either the Netherlands or Portugal.

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Requests Received 2007

40%

12%

48% UK - 31

USA - 9Other - 37

Breakdown of Notices/Orders:

Notices issued under Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) (Jersey) Law, 2001

68

Notices issued under Investigation of Fraud (Jersey) Law, 1991 36

Saisies judiciaires obtained pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law, 1999, as modified and included in the Proceeds of Crime (Designated Countries and Territories) (Jersey) Regulations, 1999, and the Drug Trafficking Offences (Jersey) Law, 1988, as modified and included in the Drug Trafficking (Designated Countries and Territories) (Jersey) Regulations, 1997

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Other Orders obtained (e.g. Registration of External Confiscation Orders and Orders made pursuant to the Evidence Proceedings in Other Jurisdictions (Jersey) Order, 1983

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Assistance was largely provided pursuant to Article 5 of the 2001 Law or Article 2 of the Investigation of Fraud (Jersey) Law 1991. Several hearings were held before the Viscount Substitute under Article 5 of the 2001 Law at the request of various overseas’ authorities. Evidence taken at one such hearing was used at a trial in the United Kingdom at which the defendant was convicted on several of the counts against him. In addition, three Saisies judiciaires were granted and six other types of Orders were obtained, including registration of five External Confiscation Orders.

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Richard Whitehead Head of ‘CHEL’ Group

Constitution, Human Rights, European and Legislation (“CHEL”) Group

CHEL consists of a Principal Legal Adviser - Richard Whitehead, a Senior Legal Adviser - Advocate Steven Pallot, Legal Advisers - Darren Woodside and Advocate Veronica Dempsey, Senior Assistant Legal Adviser - Advocate Simon Drew and Assistant Legal Adviser - Andrew Metcalfe. There is one secretary who supports three of the Legal Advisers, while other secretarial and administrative support is provided by the

general administrative staff in the Department. The areas of law reflected in the CHEL acronym summarise CHEL’s original core responsibilities, which includes the provision to the public sector of legal advice relating to the following: • The constitutional relationship between Jersey and the United

Kingdom; • Jersey’s international legal obligations; • Human rights; • The applicability of European Community law to Jersey; and • New legislation. The work undertaken in respect of legislation includes giving advice to Ministers and their Departments on proposals for new enactments (including advice on penalty provisions and human rights compatibility), preparation of reports for the Privy Council, giving drafting instructions for some major items of new legislation, including the preparation of Orders in Council extending Acts of Parliament (with any necessary adaptations) to Jersey, and advice as to whether such extensions are necessary or desirable. The drafting of Rules of Court is also undertaken from within CHEL. Such Rules are enacted by the Superior Number of the Royal Court. CHEL also provides advice and support to the Legislation Advisory Panel which advises the Chief Minister on items of new legislation which do not fall conveniently into the portfolio of a particular Minister. In addition to the matters mentioned above, CHEL also deals with a very wide range of other advisory work. This includes –

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• advice to the Honorary Police and, in public law matters, to the Parish administrations generally;

• extensive legal advice to the States’ administrations relating to

a variety of commercial and other contracts;

• advice on employment law issues for the States as an employer;

• assisting in the preparation of Law Officers’ advice to the

Scrutiny Panels; and

• advice on data protection law.

Other functions undertaken by members of CHEL include in-house notarial work by the Senior Legal Adviser who is a Notary Public, and translating legal documents to and from French.

Some of what we did in 2007 The principal Legal Adviser was extensively engaged in the preparation of new legislation to implement the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocols, on drafting instructions for new legislation on civil aviation regulation and the drafting of a new Air Navigation (Jersey) Order. The Principal Legal Adviser, together with the Legal Advisers in CHEL, gave advice on issues relating to the development of an Island-wide contingency plan to deal with an outbreak of pandemic ‘flu. The Principal Legal Adviser is a member of the Working Group set up for this purpose. Amendments of the Court of Appeal (Jersey) Law 1961 - which now await Royal Assent - were finalised to implement recommendations of Sir Godfray Le Quesne in relation to civil causes or matters and criminal and quasi-criminal matters. Civil reforms relate to jurisdiction, limitation on appeals, practice and procedure and powers exercisable by a single judge. Criminal reforms relate to time for appealing, judge’s notes and report on appeal, the right of an appellant to be present, admission of an appellant to bail, and records of proceedings at trial. The Law also gives effect to proposals for reform other than those set out in the Le Quesne recommendations. The most significant of these relate to powers to review unduly lenient sentences and to rights of appeal concerning confiscation orders.

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A draft Inheritance (Legitimacy and Provision for Family and Dependants) (Jersey) Law 200- was developed to bring about long overdue reform of the rights of illegitimate children. This Law is also intended to introduce far reaching reforms to replace Jersey's laws of reserved rights of inheritance with a jurisdiction vested in the Royal Court to order that provision be made out of an estate for family and dependants. An amendment was introduced to the Marriage and Civil Status (Jersey) Law 2001 in response to the judgment given by the European Court of Human Rights on 13th September 2005 in the case of B and L -v- the United Kingdom which involved a challenge to the prohibition under the law of the United Kingdom of the marriage of parents-in-law to children-in-law. The prohibition was held to violate article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This judgment led to the repeal in the United Kingdom of provisions of the Marriage Act 1949 forbidding the marriage of a person to the parent of his or her former spouse and the marriage of a person to the former spouse of his or her child. The amending Law repealed equivalent provisions in Jersey. Rules of Court drafted and enacted during 2007 included Rules – • revising notice requirements on filing of an opposition (caveat)

against transactions in immovable property; • enabling the Royal Court to order exchange of witness

statements between parties in civil cases; • revising the definition of 'action' in connection with

proceedings before the Royal Court on a representation; • adjusting the forms in connection with reports in curatorship

proceedings; • reforming time limits within which to make applications to

receive evidence via TV link and video recorded evidence of children.

CHEL “audited” a considerable number of the Laws adopted by the States during the year for human rights compatibility in addition to providing advice on penalty provisions. Matters which were referred to CHEL for advice included a diverse range of subjects including the regulation of sea routes, the introduction of new air routes, licensed betting, regulations to provide for remote gambling disaster recovery, an integrated care record project to be administered by Health and Social Services, contractual documentation relating to corporate procurement, and advice to the Data Protection Commissioner on enforcement issues and the

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adequacy of the Island’s data protection legislation in the context of international standards. CHEL is represented in the Sanctions Working Group, and a Legal Adviser was involved in the preparation of drafting instructions relating to European Union Sanction Orders. Very high priority was given to, and a considerable amount of time was spent in connection with, the Financial Action Task Force recommendations on money laundering and terrorist financing. In addition to the work mentioned above on the UN Convention on Transnational Crime, this involved reviewing existing legislation, further to which law drafting instructions were prepared where necessary to implement the said recommendations and the resulting draft legislation was reviewed for human rights compatibility and in respect of proposed penalty provisions, as well as being generally checked over for efficacy, in anticipation of the International Monetary Fund’s (“IMF”) visit to the Island, for the purpose of reviewing the regulation of the Island’s financial sector, which is scheduled for October, 2008. This work involved some 14 new items of principal legislation, some very considerable, which were all adopted by the States towards the end of the year. Also with the IMF visit in mind, consideration was given as to which international treaties Jersey should be party to, and steps were then taken to ensure that international obligations would be implemented by legislative or other measures, with a view to a number of international conventions being ratified on behalf of Jersey in 2008. The Senior Assistant Legal Adviser was seconded to Police Headquarters to prosecute criminal matters in the Magistrate’s Court for some three months during the summer, and also appeared before the Royal Court to deal with contracts, debts and some contentious matters. Extensive advice was given, mostly by the Senior Assistant Legal Adviser, to the Social Security Department in connection with the new Income Support Scheme to be introduced in 2008. Work was also undertaken in relation to the Employment Relations Law and the Harbours Administration Law. The Assistant Legal Adviser, as well as supporting the Principal Legal Adviser and the Attorney General in several matters, including the proposed Gender Recognition legislation and new measures to enable the importation of bull semen into Jersey (for the first time in about

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250 years), was instrumental in taking forward the results of the “Have Our Say” survey which was the first States-wide staff survey on what it is like to work for the States of Jersey. The ‘Have Our Say Team’ (“HOST”), of which the Assistant Legal Adviser is Chair, has been tasked with ensuring that the survey findings are acted upon and where there are problems that need to be tackled, HOST should help to identify solutions. Work also continues on a regular basis of the consideration of whether various items of new European legislation might be applicable to Jersey by virtue of Protocol 3 to the UK’s Act of Accession to the EC treaty.

General comments and the view to 2009 As with the two preceding years, 2007 once again saw increased work pressure on CHEL members without a concomitant increase in staff levels. Indeed, the absences of the Senior Assistant at Police HQ and the Assistant Legal Adviser on study leave obviously exacerbated the situation. The imperative of enabling Jersey to obtain as favourable a report as possible from the IMF inspectors meant that this had to be accorded priority over some other matters which were inevitably delayed as a result. While this was regrettable, it was virtually inevitable. For 2008, there will be some outstanding matters to resolve in connection with the IMF visit, in particular new legislation on customs disclosures and the regulation of non-profit organisations. More work will be required on new civil aviation legislation too, including the anticipated introduction of new rules on carriage of dangerous goods by air. The proposed new legislation on intellectual property may become urgent if Jersey is to take advantage of the perceived benefits and so it is also likely to require a significant commitment of resources. Other matters that will be progressed in 2008 include new Court of Appeal rules of court, legislation relating to the Armed Forces, the bringing into force of a Burials and Exhumations Law, and providing a statutory basis for the Comité des Connétables. A report will be provided to the Legislation Advisory Panel on proposals for reform of the law relating to the capacity of minors (this has developed from the earlier Law Society proposals for reform of the law on tutelles).

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Work will be undertaken in connection with the proposal for a central law library under the aegis of the 'Institute of Law' [the Jersey Legal Information Board agreed on 29th November 2004 to consider the establishment of a College or Institute of Law and, to that end, a document was issued on 9th August 2007 entitled “Proposal for Establishment of an Institute of Law in Jersey”]. One of the aims set out in the Proposal is to establish a central law library and, as a first step towards the fulfilment of that aim, it has been suggested that the books comprising the Library initially be held and maintained by the Institute as custodian. CHEL’s Senior Legal Adviser will be helping to draft a memorandum of understanding between the Royal Court and the Law Society to that end. The Work In Progress documents that were introduced to provide effective monitoring of work matters and their timely completion has been extended to other sections of the Department.

Orders in Council and Privy Council Reports 2007 was again a busy year for the States, with 30 new Laws being adopted. As is customary, all were presented at the next available sitting of the Royal Court after return from the Department for Constitutional Affairs, following Royal Assent. The Attorney General has a duty to report to the Privy Council following the adoption of legislation by the States and to draw to the attention of the Privy Council any features of that legislation which might affect the interests of the Crown. A new form of report was developed by the Attorney during the year and agreed with the Ministry of Justice. This should facilitate a speedier grant of royal assent than hitherto. A total of 45 reports for the Privy Council were prepared in 2007 (30 in 2006). These reports are sent in the first instance to His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor. The Department’s aim (and therefore the Group’s target) is to forward reports to the Lieutenant Governor within four weeks of States approval. Further efficiencies in this process have been achieved by the introduction of the use of electronic mailings to and from the Department for Constitutional Affairs. It is noteworthy that the target was achieved in every case during the year. The 45 reports in 2007 were transmitted within the following timescales:-

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2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Less than 10 days 20 23 31 22 36 Between 11 and 20 days 6 5 10 6 6 Between 21 and 30 days 1 1 1 2 2 Between 31 and 40 days 1 1 0 0 0 Between 41 and 50 days 0 1 0 0 0 Over 51 days 0 0 0 0 1 TOTAL 28 31 42 30 45 All reports but one were therefore transmitted within one month. The average time for transmission was 8.5 days (performance indicator 28 days). In addition to the Orders in Council relating to Laws passed by the States of Jersey a total of 2 Statutory Instruments and Orders in Council extending UK legislation to the Island were registered in the Royal Court. (2 in 2006).

Hague Convention – Service of Documents Dealing as it does with some international matters, the Group is also responsible for the administration of requests from overseas authorities for the service of judicial documents under the 1965 Hague Convention on the Service of Documents. In 2007, 52 sets of documents were received (105 sets in 2006) and processed. The total reverts therefore to a level comparable to those occurring during some past years. The data are shown graphically below.

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54

83

64

105

52

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Documents received for service under the Hague Convention 2003 - 2007

Loi (1862) sur les teneures en fidéicommis et l’incorporation d’associations

The CHEL Group also oversees applications to the Royal Court for the incorporation of associations under the Loi (1862) sur les teneures en fidéicommis et l’incorporation d’associations. The constitutions of 9 new associations were approved by the Department in 2007 (2006 total – 4 constitutions) and Acts of Incorporation granted by the Royal Court.

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Stéphanie Nicolle Q.C. H.M. Solicitor General

General Group

The General Group deals with advice to Ministers, States Departments and others in areas not covered by other Groups of the Department, criminal prosecutions other than the most serious, curatorships, child care and family matters and a wide variety of other legal work. The Group is headed by H.M. Solicitor General. At the start of 2007, it also included three Crown Advocates, one of whom retired at the end of July and one of whom increasingly

specialises in serious criminal prosecutions, and four Assistant Legal Advisers some of whom assist on an occasional basis with Magistrate’s Court prosecutions. The loss of an experienced and hardworking Crown Advocate has hit the General Group hard and it has only been through her willingness to assist with certain cases which has enabled the Group to cope in the area of childcare and family law. Secretarial assistance is provided by two secretaries.

Advice to Ministers and Departments

The Department continued to advise Ministers and Departments on a wide range of legal issues. Advice on many matters referred in previous years continued and the total number of new formal requests for advice during the year (excluding Conveyancing enquiries, advice to the States Police and some other organisations) was as follows:- 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Economic Development 39 33 48 29 25 Constables 21 30 37 33 28 Data Protection Registrar 5 4 0 2 5 Education, Sport and Culture 19 17 18 19 12 Employment & Social Security 17 26 10 21 19 Finance & Economics 9 11 28 20 9 Harbours & Airport 26 19 73 19 10 Health & Social Services 150 69 35 68 63 Home Affairs 50 49 37 38 39 Housing 35 27 2 25 19 Income Tax 9 7 4 7 3 Licensing 34 11 18 14 9 Planning and Environment 38 80 33 30 56 Population Office 9 20 Transport & Technical Services 26 36 26 29 16

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States Human Resources 7 9 9 6 0 Chief Minister’s Department 109 115 50 95 72 Scrutiny 8 14 States Member (Individual) 15 19 7 4 Total 594 558 447 479 423 (N.B. Not all of these new requests were dealt with by the General Group.)

This information is shown graphically below but these figures do not of course include the many informal requests for advice which are dealt with over the telephone or by e-mail where no separate or new file is established. The Department is very doubtful as to whether the number of overall requests for advice has dropped significantly.

Number of New Requests for Advice

594 558

447 479423

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

In addition the Department continued to provide advice to Departments where new issues arose out of existing matters and to H.M. Receiver General in relation to legal matters. Advice on Human Rights matters (part of the remit of the CHEL Group) is included in the above figures and will continue to form an increasing part of the Department’s work, particularly in the consideration of new legislation which requires a statement of compatibility before being presented to the States Assembly for debate.

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As an indicator of the level of activity of the Department, the number of files opened and closed each year is shown below. This is a relatively crude indicator but should, over time, show whether the amount of work undertaken by the Department is increasing or decreasing. The information is taken directly from the Department’s filing/time recording system on which all work is recorded. Housekeeping to close files which are no longer active is carried out on a regular basis. 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Files Opened

2755 2124 2098 1742 1790 1780

Files Closed

848 1327 1415 1336 2487 2374

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Files Opened

Files Closed

Files Opened and Closed 2002 – 2006

Criminal Matters

During 2007 a total of 112 new criminal prosecutions were instituted in the Royal Court, one fewer than in 2006 but still representing an increase in the numbers compared to the previous couple of years.

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83 86 82

149

124

151

129

143

123

104

126

10595

113 112

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Royal Court – New Criminal Cases 1993 to 2007

In 2007 the principal offence for the 112 cases was as follows: (The 2003 to 2006 figures are given as a comparison) 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Drugs offences 49 50 39 39 36 Violence against the person 29 20 18 34 21 Murder/manslaughter 1 1 0 0 1 Breaking & Entry/Illegal Entry 9 7 11 5 9 Larceny and receiving stolen property 1 4 8 5 6 Sexual offences 12 3 5 11 10 Fraud and other offences of dishonesty 3 5 2 6 3 Motoring offences 2 2 3 2 7 Public order offences/resisting arrest 1 4 0 3 5 Arson/maliciously setting fire 0 0 1 0 1 Income Tax infractions 0 0 0 0 1 Health & Safety infractions 4 0 4 1 5 Housing infractions 1 0 0 0 6 Planning infractions 3 2 0 2 0 Social Security infractions1 0 0 0 0 0 Possession of explosives/firearms 0 1 0 2 1

1 The Department also referred a number of infractions to the Legal Adviser to the Police for prosecution in the Magistrate’s Court

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Proceeds of crime 0 1 1 0 0 Other miscellaneous criminal offences2 5 5 0 2 0 Other miscellaneous infractions3 5 0 3 1 0 TOTAL NEW CASES 126 105 95 113 112

The proportion of cases relating to drug offences decreased from 35% in 2006 to 32% in 2007. The 112 new cases were dealt with in the following manner:-

During 2007, 21 trials were due to take place in the Royal Court, of which some were ordered during 2006 and others during 2007. Some ordered in 2007 will take place in the 2008. The tables below show the outcome of those cases sent for trial: During the year there were a total of 6 Criminal Assize trials and 4 trials before the Inferior Number.

2 Includes such offences as perverting the course of justice, child cruelty, demanding money with menaces etc 3 Includes, for example, infractions under the Licensing, Food Hygiene, Sea Fisheries, Data Protection, Residential Homes, Water Pollution and Fire Safety Laws.

Sentenced by Inferior Number following guilty plea

70

Sentenced by Superior Number following guilty plea

27

Not guilty plea – remanded for trial

14

Other (E.g. failed to appear - arrest ordered, case abandoned, etc)

1

Tried before Criminal Assizes 6 Tried before Inferior Number 4 Change of plea to guilty before trial date 6 Other (e.g. Prosecution abandoned before trial, defendant failed to appear etc)

5

TOTAL 21

27


19

96

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Criminal Assizes

5 12 8 7 8 10 12 15 8 8 5 6

Inferior No. Trials 7 4 4 2 6 4 2 7 8 8 5 4

Total Trials

12 16 12 9 14 14 14 22 16 16 10 10

These figures are shown graphically below:

12

16

12

9

14 14 14

22

16 16

10 10

0

5

10

15

20

25

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Royal Court Trials Held 1995 – 2007 In the 10 trials, there were a total of 12 accused (2006 – 13). Of these, 9 were found guilty (2006 – 8) and 3 acquitted (2006 – 5). The Department monitors the progress of criminal cases. The table below shows the results for the period 2003 to 2007 for those processes over which the Morier House administration has control. The performance indicators are set out in more detail in the Department’s Business Plans.

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Performance Indicator 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Receipt by Chief Clerk of case file from Legal Adviser to the Police

within 14 days of committal

PI Achieved

89.3% Longest 50

days

PI Achieved

76.0% Longest 40

days

PI Achieved

66.2% Longest 64

days

PI Achieved

63.5% Longest 76

days

PI Achieved

61.5% Longest 83

days

Allocation of case to

Crown Advocate within 7 days of receipt of papers

PI Achieved

94.2% Longest 15

days

PI Achieved

97.3% Longest 8

days

PI Achieved

94.6% Longest 26

days

PI Achieved

95.7% Longest 11

days

PI Achieved 100.0%

Longest 6 days

Indictment within 35 days of receipt of

papers

PI Achieved

92.2% Longest 45

days

PI Achieved

98.7% Longest 38

days

PI Achieved

91.8% Longest 52

days

PI Achieved

96.8% Longest 44

days

PI Achieved 100.0%

Longest 35 days

The Department will continue to monitor and report the progress of cases through the Royal Court and seek to improve processes where bottlenecks occur. As can be seen from the table above, the latter two performance indictors exceeded the target of 95% of all cases in 2007 and showed improvement over the previous years’ results. Fines and costs awarded to the Crown by the Royal Court during the year amounted to £82,000. Previous years’ figures are shown below: 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total fines and costs awarded

£86,200 £9,000 £192,500 £55,500 £82,000

(N.B. Default terms of imprisonment are often ordered by the Court which may result in a lower level of fines being collected than appears here. No adjustment has been made for any reduction in fines ordered by the Court of Appeal. Levels of fines can vary greatly from year to year as a result of one or two large fines on companies for serious cases.)

Court of Appeal – Criminal Appeals In 2007, there were 29 appellants in criminal matters to the Court of Appeal or to the Superior Number exercising appellate jurisdiction, who applied for leave to appeal against their conviction and/or sentence. (2006 – 25) In addition, the Crown appealed on one occasion against a decision of a Commissioner in a criminal case (leave refused) and there were four appellants in a quasi-criminal matter, both of which actions are excluded from the figures below. The results of these appeals were as follows:

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Leave to appeal refused 12 Appeals against conviction Appeal allowed – conviction

quashed and/or re-trial ordered 1

Appeal dismissed or abandoned 6 Appeals against sentence Appeal allowed – sentence

reduced 6

Appeal dismissed 4

Magistrate’s Court Appeals There were three appellants from the Magistrate’s Court heard in 2007. The result of those appeals is as follows: 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Appeals against conviction

Appeal allowed – conviction quashed

0 0 2 1 0

Appeal dismissed

1 0 2 1 1

Appeals against sentence

Appeal dismissed 1 0 0 1 2

Appeal allowed – sentence reduced or amended

1 2 2 0 0

Appeal allowed – remitted to Magistrate

0 0 0 0 0

In addition to the three appeals above, there was a further appeal by the Attorney General where the Magistrate failed to impose a mandatory sentence of disqualification from driving for a second driving offence committed within a ten year period as a result being misinformed of the defendant’s previous record. The Court allowed the Attorney General’s appeal and substituted a three year period of disqualification.

Bail Applications Only one application for bail was made in the Royal Court in 2007 (excluding applications made on indictment). (2006 – 7 applications). The outcomes of those applications are as follows:

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2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Review of Magistrate’s decision – bail refused

0 1 0 0 0

Review of Magistrate’s decision – bail granted

0 0 1 2 0

Remitted to the Magistrate 0 0 0 1 0 Original applications – bail refused 2 1 2 3 1 Original applications – bail granted 2 1 1 1 0 There was also one application for a variation of bail conditions (which was granted). One defendant who breached the conditions of his bail was subsequently remanded in custody.

Review of Royal Court Probation Orders There were 9 reviews of probation and community service orders by the Royal Court during 2007 (2006 total – 8) of which three offenders where the review resulted in imprisonment and three offenders had their Orders extended or amended and three where the Order was discharged. (These figures do not include any cases where an offender breached an order by re-offending.)

Naturalisations and Applications under the British Nationality Act

The Department deals with some of the administrative work which these applications require and which are dealt with in the Samedi Court. The number, and hence the work involved, has risen over the last few years although in 2007 there were 81 naturalisations and applications, a reduction on recent years. The figures for the last few years are shown graphically below.

31


3324

98 102112

81

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Naturalisations 2002 - 2007

Administrative Appeals As in previous years, members of the Department have represented Ministers and other States bodies during the year.

Debts The work of the Department’s Finance and Court Proceedings Officer resulted in:- Petty Debts Court 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Summonses sent

899 1587 1450 960 1087

Total for summonses issued

£777,600 £2,783,465 £3,514,479 £1,526,739 £2,448,785

No. of cases to court 593 1146 967 477 632

Total for cases to court £545,098 £2,265,229 £2,686,850 £943,450 £1,631,559

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500

700

900

1100

1300

1500

1700

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

(Cas

es)

Summonses sent

Cases to court

Petty Debts Court Summonses and Cases (Number of Cases)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

(£00

0's)

Value ofsummonses issued(£000's)Value of cases tocourt (£000's)

Petty Debts Court Summonses and Cases (Value) Royal Court 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Summonses sent 684 512 110 82 133

Total for summonses issued

£3,956,465 £4,588,743 £2,444,842 £2,351,907 £3,788,342

No. of cases to court 510 407 92 51 90

Total for cases to court £2,888,673 £3,277,599 £1,755,156 £986,806 £1,859,798

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A total of £2,745,768 was recovered before the court date and £35,002 was recovered via the Viscount’s Department. (Monies paid direct to individual departments after an Act of Court has been obtained and wage arrests are not included in the above figures.) This information is shown graphically below:

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

70020

03

2004

2005

2006

2007

(Cas

es)

Summonses sent

Cases to court

Royal Court Summonses and Cases (Number of Cases)

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

(£00

0's)

Value ofsummonses issued(£000's)Value of cases tocourt (£000's)

Royal Court Summonses and Cases (Value)

The level of activity in the Petty Debts Court as measured by the number of summonses sent during 2007 shows a significant increase on the previous year. The number of summonses sent to the Royal Court also increased significantly from the previous year and suggests

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a continuing upward trend. The fees collected by the Department as a result of undertaking this work for other States departments showed a continuing decrease over the year. This is due to the changes to the collection of income tax through the introduction of ITIS which has significantly reduced the number of arrears of income tax payment resulting in court action. The Department will continue to monitor the position closely but the service that the Department continues to produce a significant income for the States as a whole.

Claims against Departments The Department dealt with new civil claims against Ministers and other States Departments where proceedings were issued or threatened. Where appropriate, all were referred to the States’ insurers within the time specified by the performance indicator in the Business Plan. The claims were as follows: 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Economic Development 0 0 0 0 1 Education, Sport and Culture 0 1 1 6 1 Employment & Social Security 0 0 0 1 0 Harbours and Airport 0 0 0 1 0 Health and Social Services 7 5 5 5 4 Housing 2 3 0 1 1 Home Affairs 0 3 0 3 3 Transport & Technical Services 1 4 3 5 1 Planning & Environment - - - 0 0 States of Jersey Police 0 0 0 1 1 Other 0 0 2 0 0 Total 10 16 11 23 12

Licensing Assembly

As mentioned in the Attorney General’s Review of 2003, legal advice to the Licensing Assembly is now provided by the Judicial Greffe. It is hoped that the same arrangement can be made for meetings of the Gambling Licensing Authority.

Legitimacy Petitions Three new petitions were reviewed by the Department during the year (2006 total – 2). The performance indicator for this area of work is that an initial response should be given within three weeks of receipt of the initial letter. A response was given in the following times for the three new cases:

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2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 1 to 7 days 2 3 3 2 3 8 to 14 days 1 1 0 0 0 15 to 21 days 2 1 0 0 0 22 to 28 days 0 1 0 0 0 28 to 30 days 2 1 2 0 0

All the petitions received in 2007 were processed within the target time.

Children’s Matters The Department acts for the Children’s Department in care order proceedings, adoptions and various other matters. These matters can be extremely urgent and time consuming and represent a significant work load for those members of the Department who deal with them. In 2007, the Department dealt with 29 new matters (2006 total – 34) of this sort. The nature of many of these cases is that the work continues until the child attains his or her majority and there is a cumulative factor which makes the Department’s workload increasingly onerous as well as being of vital importance.

1 2

10 11

25

1821

32

24

29

34

29

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

New Children’s Matters Referred to the Department

Curatorships The General Group carries out the administrative work associated with the establishment of curatorships where a person is appointed by the court to look after the financial affairs of another deemed incapable of doing so themselves through mental incapacity. In 2007, the Department dealt with 88 (2006 total – 90) new curatorships for new interdicts but this figure does not include the work done on

36


existing curatorships such as for changes of curators or for curatorships not proceeded with. This represents a continuing increased work load as can be seen from the graph below:

59

74 71

5461 64

41

60

79

69 68

95

84

101

73

8894

90 88

0

20

40

60

80

100

12019

89

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Curatorships – 1989 - 2007

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Office of the Legal Adviser to the Police During 2007, the Legal Adviser to the Police’s team dealt with 200 prosecutions in the Magistrate’s Court (2006 total – 144), 56 more than in the previous year. This is shown graphically below:-

97 95

189210

184

143 144

200

0

50

100

150

200

25020

00

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Magistrate’s Court Prosecutions

The principal offences for the cases dealt with in the Magistrate’s Court (i.e. excluding those committed to the Royal Court) by members of the Legal Adviser’s Office for the last four years were as follows:- 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Drugs offences 21 18 11 11 14 Violence against the person 55 56 50 51 62 Breaking and entry / Illegal entry 24 5 4 5 8 Larceny and receiving stolen property 5 21 16 8 13 Sexual offences 12 4 4 12 12 Fraud and other offences of dishonesty 11 6 6 6 8 Motoring offences 25 19 14 14 30 Public order offences / Resisting arrest 16 23 12 9 18 Infractions 3 1 2 0 4 DIC 19 14 16 13 14 Miscellaneous 14 15 4 13 12 Malicious damage 5 2 4 2 5 TOTAL 210 184 143 144 200

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The Legal Adviser answered 199 requests for advice from various agencies in the criminal justice system (2006 total – 290) which although a reduction on the previous few years’ totals, still represents a significant workload. Again this is shown graphically below:-

151 150

191

247232

272290

199

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

35020

00

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Requests for Advice Answered 111 files were prepared for the Royal Court during the year (2006 total – 137) although not all of these were indicted before the Royal Court during 2007.

115 117 116135

113 107

137

111

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Royal Court Files Prepared

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Conveyancing Group

2007 was an interesting and challenging year for the Section. As in previous years, the bulk of the Section’s work involved providing advice and information to various States Departments and the Receiver General, but an Act of the States passed on 17th July, which approved the “Social Housing Property Plan 2007 to 2016”, greatly increased the workload. The approval allowed the Housing Department to begin the sale of 800 social housing units. It was proposed that the majority of these units would be sold off to States’ tenants under a “Shared Equity Scheme” and the remainder on the open market. Shared Equity was a misleading title as the proposed scheme was actually one of “Deferred Payment”, i.e. the purchaser would own 100% of the property, but the payment of a percentage of the consideration would be deferred until triggered by a specified event which generally involved the alienation of the property in some form. The Section was asked to work out the mechanics of how such a scheme could be implemented. With the assistance of the Solicitor General, a method of securing the deferred percentage of the consideration as a second charge on the property was devised. The first houses to be sold using this scheme were those comprising the Phase 1B redevelopment of Le Squez Estate, now called “Les Cloches”. The contracts of sale of these properties started to pass through the Royal Court towards the end of the year. These 800 sales, in addition to the usual advice work, will continue to prove challenging and place great pressure on the Section’s limited resources over the next decade.

40


The Conveyancing Section of the Department undertook the following transactions before the Royal Court during 2007:- 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Property sales and sales of rights

72 42 57 41 47

Property purchases

30 9 18 1 3

Deeds of arrangements and parties to contract

56 49 33 27 33

Contracts with Jersey Electricity Company

7 3 4 2 0

Other contract leases

6 6 7 3 7

Mortgages secured by simple conventional hypothec

0 0 1 0 0

New Agricultural loans and other loans served by judicial hypothec**

2 0 1* 0 1

Existing agricultural loans re-registered

3 11 7 6 5

*Judicial Hypothec – Caledonia Close, £585,000, repayable 30th June 2006 ** Caledonia Close repaid September 2006

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The values of the transactions for which the Conveyancing Group were responsible during the year were as follows:- 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Gross value of sales completed on behalf of the Public and the Crown

£25,765,183 £6,430,598 £9,970,352 £20,654,578* £8,540,178**

Gross value of purchases completed on behalf of the Public and the Crown

£8,951,397 £517,381 £3,480,340 £10 Nil

Gross value of all new loans registered

£68,995 £70,718 £109,000 - £79,033

Gross value of all existing loans re-registered

£80,398 £691,175 £770,622 £345,036 £147,646

Gross amount of legal fees recovered from third parties

£36,920 £21,890 £15,210 £91,690 £24,000

*Includes £1,998,9673 AHP sales/transfers **Includes £746,452 approx AHP sales/transfers and £2,500 Crown sale

JEC Leases annual rental receipts (total paid in advance)

Nil

Crown Leases annual rental receipts (1)

100 p.a. x 21 yrs

Public Leases annual rental receipts (3)

£10 p.a. x 99 yrs + consideration of £17,500

£250,000 p.a. x 10 yrs

99yrs, 2007 £nil, 2008 £2,500 increasing each year

Considerations received on Deeds of Arrangement

Nil

Fees paid by Public to Lawyers £8,820

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SECTION 5

2006 BUSINESS PLAN DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES REPORT ON PROGRESS

The 2006 Business Plan for the Law Officers’ Department listed a number of key activities to be undertaken during the year. That list is reproduced here with an indication of the progress made in achieving the objectives set out.

Activities that have been achieved are shown in green. Activities that are only partially complete or are on-going are shown in blue. Activities that have not yet been undertaken are shown in red.

2007 Key Activities Relating to Organisation and Management of the Department

4.1 Consider the results of the States-wide staff

survey and implement changes to Department procedures as appropriate.

The Management Team has considered the comments made by staff and will implement as appropriate changes during 2008.

4.2 Complete recruitment of additional staff, particularly the property lawyer.

Completed

4.3 Continue discussions with police over accommodation for the Legal Adviser to the Police and his staff, in particular with regard to the new Police Headquarters building.

The new building is currently not being progressed due to lack of available financial resources. The Management Team continues to be concerned about the facilities available to Law Officers' Department staff there.

4.4 Consider report on the file referencing review and plan for changes if appropriate.

Report received and changes will be implemented in 2008

4.5 Review the debt recovery system and investigate the feasibility of moving from

Not undertaken due to lack of time and financial resources

43


the current Dataease-based system to an Access system.

to undertake any changes.

4.6 Continue revision of staff handbook to Lexcel standards.

On-going

4.7 Introduce case management system for file handling to Lexcel standards.

Limited system introduced for criminal prosecutions but see also 4.9 below.

4.8 Consider other changes to Departmental procedures to comply with Lexcel standards

On-going

4.9 Use case management system to collect performance data with a view to publication in 2008 onwards.

As a result of the review of the file referencing system, the current time recording and case management system will be replaced in 2008. Once the new system is in place, this will be re-visited.

4.10 Produce 2008 Business Plan to agreed corporate standards

Not completed due to problems setting a balanced budget.

4.11 Produce 2007 Attorney General’s Review.

March 2008

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SECTION 6

This Section was introduced in 2006 and reproduces the Statement of Internal Control made by the Accounting Officer for the Department (the Chief Clerk) as a requirement of Financial Direction 2.2. Progress made on the significant control issues identified within the Statement over the year will be reported in the next Review.

Statement on Internal Control at December 2007

This section outlines the main features of the Law Officers' Department system of internal control and internal audit arrangements. The Statement of Internal Control is a requirement of Financial Direction 2.2. 1. Scope of responsibility Under the terms of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law, 2005, the Accounting Officer of a States funded body is personally accountable for the proper financial management of the resources of the body in accordance with that Law.

The Accounting Officer of a States funded body must, in particular, ensure –

a. that the expenditure of the body does not exceed the amount appropriated to it by a head of expenditure and is used for the purpose for which it was appropriated;

b. that, in so far as practical, all money owed to the body is promptly collected and paid into an appropriate bank account, and that all money owed by the body is duly paid;

c. that the body keeps proper accounts of all its financial transactions and proper records of those accounts;

d. that the records of the body are promptly provided when required by the Treasurer for the production of the annual financial statement;

e. that the body is administered in a prudent and economical manner;

f. that the resources of the body are used efficiently and effectively; and

g. that the provisions of the Law in their application to the States funded body are otherwise complied with.

45


In the Law Officers' Department, the Chief Clerk is the Accounting Officer and is responsible for all financial matters relating to the Department. 2. Purpose of internal control The system of internal control is designed to manage risk to a reasonable level rather than to eliminate all risk of failure to achieve or maintain policies, aims and objectives. It can therefore only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance of effectiveness. The system of internal control is based on an ongoing process designed to identify and prioritise the risks to the achievement of the Department’s policies, aims and objectives, to evaluate the likelihood of those risks being realised and the impact should they be realised, and to manage them efficiently, effectively and economically. The system of internal control has been in place in the Department for the year ended 31st December 2007 and up to the date of approval of the annual report accounts. 3. The risk and control framework The Department’s Annual Business Plan provides the framework for the use of resources, the ways in which the Department will contribute to the States’ strategic objectives and internal improvements in the way in which the Department functions and is managed. The Business Plan complies with State standards as appropriate to a non-executive, judicial Department and is published in both hard copy and on the States internet site. The possible risks to the success of implementing the Business Plan are identified in both the Plan. The performance of the Department is reported annually in the Attorney General’s Review and includes statistical measures of performance, financial data and reports on performance indicators. Again, the Review is published in hard copy and on the internet. As a small department, there is no delegation of budgets to anyone other than the Finance Manager and Chief Clerk who have regular informal meetings on an almost daily basis, where any problems are discussed and agreement reached on solutions. The Department complies with Financial Directions as appropriate (see below regarding capital expenditure, for example) and with other States policies as appropriate to a non-

46


executive, judicial Department. Any omissions from the requirements of the Financial Directions are shown below. The States Strategic Plan includes a commitment to adopt Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. A project has commenced to implement Resource Based Accounting and Budgeting (RAB), a major element of which is the adoption of GAAP based standards. The adoption of GAAP is scheduled for 1st January 2009.

In the meantime, Accounting Officers must prepare a departmental plan for the adoption of GAAP standards, specifically a ‘RAB Implementation Plan’, i.e. a plan for the adoption of GAAP based standards, as detailed in the Jersey Financial Reporting Manual and Jersey Budgetary Control Framework, to be submitted to the RAB Project Manager by 31st March 2008. These plans will be subject to an internal audit review during 2008.

4. Review of effectiveness Income Systems have been documented and communicated to the appropriate staff for claiming and collecting income due to the Department. Regular income is confined to conveyancing fees and fees due from other States departments for debt recovery. The Finance Manager reconciles income/debtors on a quarterly basis to ensure that all income is fully accounted for and chased up where outstanding. Costs – The Crown is occasionally awarded costs by the Court, either a total amount or in settlement of a bill of costs in the normal way. Similarly, occasionally confiscations and asset sharing agreements with other jurisdictions produce monies which are to be credited to the Criminal Offences Confiscation Fund. Such awards and confiscations are only made occasionally and are therefore less easy to deal with than regular income although the number is very small. New procedures have been put in place during the year to insert a questionnaire into each case file, to remind prosecutors of the potential for any possible income streams. Expenditure The Department complies with Financial Regulations on expenditure. High Cost Cases – The Department has a number of criminal investigations and prosecutions which result in high expenditure

47


which is charged to the Court and Case Costs account. Following reviews by the Internal Audit Department of the Treasury and by the National Audit Office, procedures recommended by those reviews have been put in place to monitor and control expenditure. In addition, regular internal review meetings are held to monitor progress of the investigations and their costs. Quarterly Reports – The Department’s budget is monitored centrally through the reports which are sent on a quarterly basis to the Treasury. In addition, the Senior Management Team reviews income and expenditure each quarter at its regular monthly meetings. Payments – The Department uses the Shared Services section of the Treasury to make payments to suppliers. The Finance Manager reconciles all payments to the JDE records and ensures that any errors are corrected. Stock Control and Petty Cash – The Department’s stock of stamps for contracts is reconciled on a regular basis and at end of year by the Court Proceedings and Finance Officer and verified by the Finance Manager. Petty cash floats are similarly reconciled by their holders and verified by the Finance Manager. Capital Expenditure The Department is not responsible for nor involved in any capital projects. Asset Register A register of assets, including IT and office equipment, is now complete. The Department has no individual pieces of equipment with a value greater than £5,000. Assurance Statements Statements have been supplied by the Accounting Officers of the Treasury and Resources Department, the Information Services Department and the Human Resources Department that the systems in place for services provided by them which the Department uses comply with the requirements of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law, 2005. Audit Reviews The Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr Chris Swinson, has been tasked by the Chief Minister to carry out a review of Department resources in 2008. The review is to cover the resources available to the Department, both financial and staffing, and the organisation and efficiency of the Department. It is part of a wider review of a number of States departments.

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This review is due to be completed in the first quarter of the year. The Internal Audit plan for 2008 requires a review of the Non-executive departments and autonomous bodies internal control environment. The aim is to provide assurance to Chief Officer(s) / Heads of Department that the basic financial controls over cash and other assets are operating effectively. 5. Significant control issues

Control Issue Mitigating Actions Officer Responsible and

Time Scale Significant funding pressures 2008 onwards

The department has submitted a bid for additional funding in 2008 onwards. The results of the CAG review will be incorporated in the budgeting process for 2009.

Chief Clerk By the end of first quarter 2008

With effect from 1st January 2009 the States will account for its income, expenditure, assets and liabilities on a GAAP basis. The Jersey Financial Reporting Manual (JFReM) has been prepared to interpret GAAP for the States of Jersey. Accounting Officers must produce financial information on the basis of the JFReM with

Prepare a departmental plan for the adoption of GAAP standards.

Chief Clerk 31st March 2008

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effect from 1st January 2009.

Formal risk management document not in existence

Risks of failure to complete key objectives set out in the Business Plan are set out in the Plan, but there is no other formal risk management policy document.

Chief Clerk Risk Management Plan completed and approved by Management Team by the end of the year.

Errors in making payments to suppliers by staff of Shared Services section

Finance Manager reconciles all payments to JDE records and arranges corrections as appropriate

Finance Manager On-going

6. Closing statement To the best of my knowledge, the internal control environment, as identified above, has been effectively operated during the year, subject to the actions identified the previous section. Signed: T. J. Allen Date: February 2008 (Accounting Officer)

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APPENDIX

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ATTORNEY GENERAL S REVIEW · arising from custom or statute are performed to a high standard and in...

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