Legal advice request and the right to remove a child from its parents (FOI)

​Request

If a child has not had its birth registered does the States of Jersey have a legal right to remove that child from its parents?

Response

Under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 Article 1 “information” means information recorded in any form. The information requested is expert legal advice which would need to be based on a specific set of circumstances and would need to be obtained from a legally qualified advisor. We do not hold such specific information recorded in any form and are unable to give such legal advice. In terms of the legislation and cases which define the law, there is extensive information published as described below which would provide a background to any advice
which might be obtained from a qualified lawyer.

A great deal of digested and prepared information, including coverage of the law and guidance, is published on the Citizens Advice Bureau site.

Citizens Advice Bureau

There are also useful family law links and information on the States of Jersey web site in particular under legal guidance on divorce, separation and relationship breakdown

Legal guidance on divorce, separation and relationship breakdown

The Jersey Legal Information Board site publishes detailed and comprehensive information about Jersey primary, secondary and case law. All legislation is publicly available on the site (for family law see Chapter 12 Family and Personal

Jersey Legal Information Board

Published judgments of the Royal Court are also available on the site at least back to 1985 although for some areas a registered account is required. The site also includes a wide range of other legal reference materials such as the Jersey Law Review which may give a useful overview of different areas of the law.