An Overview Of The Jersey Court System

Introduction

This briefing is directed towards both foreign lawyers who may need to instruct Jersey law firms and use the Jersey courts and local clients who whilst themselves familiar with the court system may have clients or potential clients who would like to understand the basics of its structure. This briefing focuses on the civil side of the court system and on the Royal Court, which is the principal court in the jurisdiction.

The Royal Court and the Appellate Courts

The Royal Court has four different divisions, Probate (for wills matters), Family, Héritage (for matters concerning immoveable property), and Samedi (for the remainder of cases), although they are not physically separate nor do different judges sit within them. Apart from a Matrimonial Registrar, the judges do not specialise in a particular field and the Royal Court simply sits as a particular division to hear a particular case. Most cases are dealt with in the Samedi Division, which deals with