Magistrates's Court (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment No. 10) (Jersey) Law 201-

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A decision made 1 October 2010 regarding: Magistrates's Court (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment No. 10) (Jersey) Law 201-.

Decision Reference: MD-C-2010-0081
Decision Summary Title :	Magistrate’s Court (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment No. 10) (Jersey) Law 201-		Date of Decision Summary:	15th September 2010
Decision Summary Author:	Project and Research Officer		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Magistrate’s Court (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment No. 10) (Jersey) Law 201-		Date of Written Report:	15th September 2010
Written Report Author:	Project and Research Officer		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Magistrate’s Court (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment No. 10) (Jersey) Law 201-
Decision(s): The Chief Minister agreed to lodge the Draft Magistrate’s Court (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment No. 10) (Jersey) Law 201-
Reason(s) for Decision: Article 10 of the Magistrate’s Court (Miscellaneous Provisions) 1949 makes provision for the service of summonses in the Magistrate’s Court, which under paragraph (a) should be served by means including registered post or recorded delivery service. The problem concerns the return of summonses on Friday afternoons for non-payment of parking fines. The way that recorded delivery now works is such that, if nobody signs for receipt of the letter containing the summons, a docket is left at the address inviting the addressee to come to the Post Office to collect the letter. If the addressee does not do so within a number of days, the letter is returned, undeliverable, to the sender. The Magistrate has ruled that if a summons is neither delivered to, nor collected by, the defendant, the summons cannot be said to have been ‘served’. As the Law stands, therefore, if the addressee does not collect the letter from the Post Office containing a summons for non-payment of a parking fine, he or she can effectively avoid having to pay the fine. The draft amendment would overcome this discrepancy. It is proposed that Article 10 of the Law would be repealed and provision made in Article 29 Rules of Court to empower the Superior Number to make the rules of Court, including - The service of any application, summons, order, notice, or other instrument or document, issued under this Law or under rules of court; Such rules, rather than the Law itself, would provide the Court with the ability to make provision for service to be evidence by record of first class post (or equivalent). The views of the Bailiff and the Magistrate have been sought on the matter and have responded in favour of the draft amendment. The Legislation Advisory Panel has also considered the provisions of the draft amendment and was minded to recommend the Chief Minister agree to support its lodging.
Resource Implications: There are no financial or manpower implications for the States arising from the adoption of this Draft Law.
Action required: The Greffier of the States is asked to arrange for the Draft Law to be lodged ‘au Greffe’ for consideration by the States on 16th November 2010.
Signature:		Position: Senator T.A. Le Sueur, Chief Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):