Draft Advocates and Solicitors (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 200-.

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A decision made (06/12/2007) regarding: Draft Advocates and Solicitors (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 200-.

Decision Reference: MD-C-2007-0063
Decision Summary Title :	Draft Advocates and Solicitors (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 2000-		Date of Decision Summary:	20th November 2007
Decision Summary Author:	Julian Morris Policy and Research Manager		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	-
Written Report Title :	Draft Advocates and Solicitors (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 2000-		Date of Written Report:	2nd October 2007
Written Report Author:	Law Officer’s Department		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: The proposed Draft Advocates and Solicitors (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 2000-
Decision(s): The Chief Minister, acting on the recommendation of the Legislation Advisory Panel, agreed to lodge the draft Advocates and Solicitors (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 2000-
Reason(s) for Decision: The purpose of the attached projet de loi is to make two relatively straightforward amendments to the Advocates and Solicitors (Jersey) Law 1997 (“the 1997 Law”) which lays down the academic and other requirements for admission to practice as an advocate or as a solicitor (écrivain) of the Royal Court. (1) Requirement to be a ‘fit and proper person’ - There is nothing in the 1997 Law that appears to require the Attorney General and, in turn, the Royal Court to be satisfied that an applicant to act as an advocate and solicitor is of good character. In order to overcome this deficiency in the 1997 Law, the draft amendment would add a requirement that, upon an application for admission as an advocate or as a solicitor, the Royal Court would, in addition to all other criteria, have to be satisfied that the applicant was a fit and proper person to be admitted. (2) Period of employment in ‘a relevant office’ - The second respect in which the 1997 Law would be amended relates to a more specific aspect of vocational experience, namely, the length of time certain applicants need to have been employed in a lawyers’ office before being admitted as an advocate or as a solicitor. In this context, the expression “relevant office” means an advocate’s or a solicitor’s office in Jersey, the Law Officers Department or the Judicial Greffe. The proposed change is as follows: in the case of a prospective advocate, the requirement would be changed to one whereby, in the period of three years immediately preceding the person’s application for admission to the Bar, he or she would have to have been employed for a period of, or periods totalling, two years in a relevant office or in more than one such office; in the case of a prospective solicitor, the requirement would be changed to one whereby, in the period of four years immediately preceding the person’s application for admission as a solicitor, he or she would have to have been employed for a period of, or periods totalling, three years in a relevant office or in more than one such office.
Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications.
Action required: Request the Greffier of the States to lodge the Draft Advocates and Solicitors (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 200- ‘au Greffe’ for consideration by the States in January 2008.
Signature:		Position: Chief Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):