Types of legislation and where to find them

​​​​Types of legislation

Laws

The States Assembly can pass a Law on any matter, except international relations which may only be made by the UK.

A Law that is adopted by the States Assembly does not have effect until it has been

• approved in the UK by the monarch
• registered in the Royal Court in Jersey

There is an exception for Laws concerning taxation, such as bringing in a new tax. A special procedure set out in Article 12 of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 allows for these to have effect as soon as they are passed by the States Assembly, before obtaining UK approval or being registered in the Royal Court.

Some Laws give the States Assembly powers to make further legislation, usually in the form of Regulations.

A Law may also give a Minister powers to make further legislation in the form of an Order.

Regulations

In general, Regulations are used to supplement the provisions of its parent Law. Regulations are made by the States Assembly, but may only be made on a particular matter if its parent Law authorises it. Regulations may amend a Law only if this is expressly permitted by the parent Law.

Regulations do not require UK approval or registration in the Royal Court before they have legal effect.

Triennial Regulations

Triennial Regulations are a special category of Regulations.

These Regulations are made by the States Assembly under powers granted by UK Orders in Council and extended to Jersey.

Triennial Regulations are rare. They are made when there is an urgent need for legislative provision and not enough time to make or amend a Law to authorise the States Assembly to make that provision. They expire after 3 years but can be renewed by the States Assembly.

An example of Triennial Regulations is the Unlawful Public Entertainments (Jersey) Regulations 2024. 

Orders

Orders are made by a Minister, not by the States Assembly.

A Minister may only make an Order if authorised by a Law or Regulations to do so. Orders are generally used:

• for routine, administrative and uncontroversial matters

• where the provision might need to be updated regularly, such as fees. The amount set by an Order can then be updated by an amending Order

After an Order is made, it must be laid before the States Assembly. This means a copy of it is distributed to States Members.

An Order can be annulled by a States Member but this is rare.

Acts

There are 3 types of Act made by the States Assembly that we draft:

• commencement Acts, which give the date on which a Law will come into force
• appointed day Acts, which specify dates for other purposes, such as the date of a one-off public holiday
• Acts declaring that a taxation draft has immediate effect, sometimes called an Acte Opératoire

Where to find legislation

Most of Jersey’s legislation can be found on Jersey Legal Information Board (JLIB). This includes:

• Orders in Council
• Laws
• Regulations
• Orders
• Rules
• Acts
• Bye-laws

Regulations, Orders, Rules, Acts and Bye-laws all come under the heading of R&O, in reference to the numbers given to them, for example R&O.5/2023.

Current legislation

You can find Jersey legislation currently in force in current laws on JLIB​. This collection is updated when legislation is amended or new legislation comes into force.

Previous versions of legislation

Since December 2024 it has been possible to see point-in-time versions of legislation going back to 1 January 2019.

Every piece of legislation in the current and repealed collections has a selectable timeline containing all the versions of that legislation issued since 1 January 2019.

You can select any legislation from the current or repealed collections to find a previous version of the legislation within that timeframe.

Enacted legislation

Enacted means officially made. It’s a process that varies depending on the type of legislation. Find more information in Article 2 of the Legislation (Jersey) Law 2021 which describes how legislation is made.

Enacted legislation is legislation in the form it was originally made without any later amendments. Enacted legislation includes both principal legislation and amending legislation.

Most of Jersey’s enacted legislation can be found in enacted (original) laws on JLIB with some historical limitations:

• Laws are complete back to 1 January 1961
• Laws enacted before 1 January 1961 are not available online, except:
• Laws enacted before the end of 1960 and not repealed as at 11 May 1981
• Laws enacted in the 1950s but repealed before 11 May 1981
• R&Os are complete back to 1 January 1970
• R&Os made before 1 January 1970 are not available online unless they had not been repealed as at 31 March 1979 

Enacted legislation that is not available online may still be available in printed bound volumes. Contact Jersey Library or the Information Centre at the States Greffe​.

Pending laws

You can find Laws adopted by the States Assembly and submitted for confirmation by His Majesty in Council in pending laws on JLIB.

Translated laws

Some current Jersey laws are written in French.

Find some of these laws in unofficial translations on JLIB​. These translations are not authoritative versions of the law.

Repealed legislation

You can find legislation that has been repealed in repealed laws on JLIB.

Not all repealed legislation is available on JLIB. You may be able to request a photocopy of repealed legislation from the Information Centre of the States Greffe. Printed volumes of Jersey legislation are kept at Jersey Library. 

Draft legislation

Draft Laws, Regulations and Acts are published as propositions on the States Assembly website​. They are debated by the States Assembly.

Explanatory notes

Explanatory notes are written by a legislative drafter to explain the effect of the legislation. Courts can refer to explanatory notes when trying to interpret legislation.

Explanatory notes for draft Laws, Regulations and Acts

You can find explanatory notes for draft Laws, Regulations and Acts in propositions.

Laws and Regulations that are currently in force also include links to propositions in the Table of Legislation History at the end of each document.

Explanatory notes for Orders and Rules

Find Explanatory notes for Orders and Rules in order papers on the States Assembly website.