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Please note that this guide takes the position of goverments up to 1964. The Senators only are elected in Jersey now for a period of 6 years, and the Rectors have no say in the Guernsey States of Election. Both islands have recently undertaken a review of the machinery of government and it is likely that these will lead to future changes of significance, with a shift to ministerial government under a chief minister.[from Introducing the Channel Islands by Henry Myhill (1964)]
The development of the constitutions of the Channel Islands is a subject on which volumes could be—and indeed have been—written. Professor Le Patourel, himself a Guernseyman, has published a closely written thesis, The Medieval Administration of the Channel Islands, which covers no more than the two centuries from 1199 to 1399! When four islands were chipped off from an independent French province, and for centuries went each their own way, with only a personal attachment through the sovereign to a kingdom across the Channel which had neither the same language, nor the same laws, nor the same administrative traditions, it is obvious that those four islands would develop along four different lines, and end with four different forms of government.
In all the Islands, much work remains to be done on this development. Here, only the briefest sketch can be given, before attempting a short description of the four constitutions as they stand today, since the post-war reforms of 1948.
Immediately before the loss of Normandy, John had given the administration of the Islands to a certain Pierre de Preaux; and a Warden or Governor of the Isles, or Lord of the Isles if he was of sufficient personal importance, was the supreme Royal officer all through the Middle Ages. As it was during John's reign that they first stood on their own, separated from Normandy, it was then that they, or rather, the Royal administrators on the spot, had to devise methods of government. Early in the seventeenth century Sir John Peyton, Governor of Jersey, asked for a statement of the island's constitution; and because this statement referred to what had been done by John after the loss of Normandy, the tradition grew up that the King who unwillingly signed Magna Carta had of his free will given a charter to the Islands.
The truth was less sudden, and less dramatic. In medieval times, the King's first duty was to defend his subjects, and his second duty, almost as important, to act as the fount of justice. He was given no taxes to help him in day to day administration, although special levies might be freely voted to him by his subjects for special purposes, such as foreign wars. For the rest of the time, he was expected to live off his own, and he had plenty of estates all over his dominions—including the Channel Islands—to enable him to do so.
So after appointing a Warden to see to the Islands' defence, the King's first duty was the provision of courts, and of judges, to hear serious cases, or appeals from lesser (e.g. seigneurial) courts. Justices had previously travelled from Rouen to hold Assizes, and for a time itinerant justices came from England, and travelled round the Islands hearing cases, as they still travel round the county courts in England. But the inconvenience of this in medieval conditions of travel, and the importance of not alienating the allegiance of the islanders during the Hundred Years' War, led to the appointment of local men, called Jurats. The meetings of the jurats each week, known as the Royal Court, became the supreme judicial body in each island, beyond which appeal could only be made to the King in Council. The jurats were elected for life by the Crown officials and chief landowners in each island; and it may be noted that Sark, at that time, had its jurats just as did the other islands. Although today Sark seems the anachronism, its present constitution, even if it has changed less in the last century or two, is at least three hundred years younger than those of Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney.
In the Middle Ages, the administration and interpretation of the laws, which belonged to the King in his judicial capacity, was very hard to separate from the making of those laws, which belonged equally to the King in his law-giving, or legislative capacity. These two functions were just as hard to separate in the King's advisers or representatives. Parliament is still the High Court of Parliament, and the House of Lords the ultimate Court of Appeal.
In the same way, the Royal Courts in each island could make laws, as well as administer them. They retained this right until 1771 in Jersey, and until later still in Guernsey. They met under a president, named the Bailiff (that is, the bailiff of the King's estates in the island), who was directly appointed by the Crown.
From when we first hear of this official, in the thirteenth century, there was one bailiff for Jersey, and one for Guernsey, and Alderney had a similar official, called a Prevot (and later, a Judge). The old Norman office of Vicomte, which certainly existed in the Islands, as throughout Normandy, before 1204, has died out everywhere except in Jersey. Even there, it has survived as no more than a shadow of its former self: the Vicomte in Jersey today is the chief executive officer of the Court, and has the task of proclaiming a new sovereign.
Slowly, over the centuries, the importance of the office of Bailiff has grown, whilst that of the Governor has declined. Today in Britain, it is the Prime Minister who rules, and the Queen who simply reigns. So in the Islands, the Bailiff today holds all the real power. The Lieutenant-Governor is still Commander-in-Chief in each island, but since the war he has had no garrison to command. And in 1940 this last occasion when fighting might have taken place, the Lieutenant-Governors were hastily withdrawn, and it was the Bailiffs who were appointed as Civil Governors to face the German occupiers.
This process has come about through a series of historical accidents. After the end of the French occupation of Jersey, in the fifteenth century, the two bailiwicks were placed under separate Governors, who were therefore each that much less powerful. Then for a long period, the Governors themselves were absentees, and appointed Lieutenant-Governors in their place. These less authoritative figures sometimes quarrelled with the Bailiffs; and then the frequently changed nonentities who were Lieutenant-Governors during the eighteenth century allowed all real power to slip out of their hands.
The Lieutenant-Governors of Jersey and of Guernsey in this century are distinguished military or naval men, who give five years at the end of an active life, to filling a position almost exactly analogous to that of the Queen, whose personal representative they are. Their office is no sinecure. As they open bazaars, welcome guests to their summer levees or winter receptions, inspect industries, visit exhibitions, and attend divine service at one place of worship after another all over their island, they become well loved as well as respected figures, whose retirement causes sorrow. The Bailiff, on the other hand, simply because like the Prime Minister he wields real power, can on occasions inspire feelings rather less than filial.
The Royal Courts, in dealing with non-judicial matters, and in particular with the question of raising taxes, gradually began consulting other important people in the Islands: the Rectors of the parish churches, and the Constables, who were the elected heads of the parishes. Miss Edith Carey suggested that these etats may first have been called by the French, during their occupation of Guernsey in 1338-40, and of Jersey in 1461-68. This may be so, but it is not really necessary to bring in the French, as assemblies of some kind, representative of the politically important people, were developing all over western Europe. It was the Islands' association with England, the one major power whose representative assembly continued to develop, until it gained all real power, that enabled their own smaller 'States' to grow in the same direction, along independent, but parallel lines.
Gradually, they took over legislative functions from the Royal Courts. Then during the nineteenth century, as one Reform Bill after another in Britain brought the vote to wider and wider sections of the community, so in both Jersey and Guernsey elected Deputies were added to the States, so that the Constables were no longer the only elected members.
Until the Second World War, however, the constitutions of the Islands were far from being straightforward unicameral, 'one man, one vote' governments. The Rectors were still ex-officio members of the States; and although it can be argued that the House of Lords is a more august, and a more intelligent body, because it still has a Bench of Bishops, a Jersey Rector who had sat in the States during the last year or two of the old constitution told me that it used to take up a great deal of time which he badly needed for other work.
There follows a brief summary of the constitutions as they are today.
JERSEY: Crown Appointments.
Lieutenant-Governor; Bailiff; Deputy-Bailiff; Dean; Attorney-General; Solicitor-General; Vicomte; Receiver of Her Majesty's Revenues.JERSEY: The States.
The Bailiff, who presides over the States, acting both as 'Prime Minister', and as 'Speaker'. Twelve Senators, elected by the people of the whole island, four of whom retire every three years. Each Senator is therefore elected for a nine-year term. The twelve Constables of the twelve parishes. Twenty-eight Deputies, elected for three years. St. Helier is divided into three Electoral Districts, each of which elects four Deputies, so that the Town in fact elects twelve. St. Saviour's, which also has a high density of population, has likewise three electoral districts, each of which elects one Deputy. St. Brelade's, St. Clement's, and St. Lawrence's each elect two Deputies. The other parishes send one each. The Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, and the Dean have seats in the States, but no vote.GUERNSEY: Crown Appointments.
Lieutenant-Governor; Bailiff; Lieutenant-Bailiff; Dean; Her Majesty's Procureur (who does the work performed in Jersey by the Attorney-General); Her Majesty's Comptroller (who does the work performed in Jersey by the Solicitor-General).GUERNSEY: The States of Deliberation (commonly known as 'the States').
The Bailiff, who presides, and who acts both as "Speaker" and as "Prime Minister". Twelve Conseillers, chosen by the States of Election. Thirty-three Deputies, elected for three years by the entire adult population. Ten Douzaine representatives, elected annually by each of the douzaines, or parish councils, from amongst their own number. Two representatives of the States of Alderney. These represent Alderney’s interests, now that Guernsey has assumed responsibility for many aspects of administration in the northern isle: Police, Education, Social Services, Public Health, the Airport— and the collection of taxes.GUERNSEY: The States of Election.
The States of Election are simply an electoral college, whose function is to elect the twelve Conseillers for the States of Deliberation, and the twelve Jurats for the Royal Court. The Bailiff, who presides. The twelve Jurats; the twelve Conseillers; the ten Rectors; H.M. Procureur; H.M. Comptroller; the thirty-three Deputies; thirty-four Representatives of the douzaines; and four Alderney Representatives. The four Alderney Representatives vote for the Conseillers, but have no part in the election of the Jurats.ALDERNEY: Crown Appointments.
The Chairman of the Royal Court, and six Jurats.ALDERNEY: The States.
The President, elected at a separate Presidential election, and holding office for three years. Nine elected members. Three of these are elected each year to serve for three years.SARK:
La Dame appoints the three officers of the Seigniorial Court. These appointments are subject to the approval of the Crown, expressed through the Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey. These officers are: The Senechal, who is Magistrate, President of the Chief Pleas, President of the Douzaine (a committee of the Chief Pleas), and in fact chief administrator of the island. In civil cases, the Senechal has authority over the Seigneur himself. The Prevot, who acts as Sheriff, or Sergeant of the Court, and incidentally as gaoler. The Greffier, who acts as Registrar, and as Clerk, both to the Court, and to the Chief Pleas.SARK: the Chief Pleas.
This tiny legislature is composed of: the three officers of the Court, of whom the Prevot and the Greffier only have votes if they are also Tenants. The Senechal, however, has a casting vote in addition to the vote which he generally has as a Tenant. The Forty Tenants. Twelve Deputies of the People, elected for three years by adult inhabitants of Sark who are not Tenants. La Dame only votes in the Chief Pleas by virtue other holding a Tenancy. As she holds two Tenancies, however, she in fact has two votes. Like the King in Parliament, however, she has that ultimate reserve power, used in Sark almost as rarely as in Britain: the veto. The Chief Pleas are obliged to meet three times a year, at Michaelmas, Christmas, and Easter. They can be called for special sessions at other times, when business requires.Local government is based on the parish, and is associated with police duties. In Guernsey, an all-island paid police force was introduced between the wars. In Jersey, however, the honorary police deserve all the honour that they can get. Even in St. Helier, where a paid force exists, there is also the full quota of honorary officers. In the other parishes the Constable, his Centeniers (each originally responsible for a hundred families), and his Vingteniers (each originally responsible for twenty families), have to be consulted before a malefactor from outside their parish can be apprehended within their boundaries.
In Guernsey, there is an elected parish council called a Douzaine, whose members are Douzeniers. These elect the Constables in each parish, who, once elected, are bound to accept office. In Jersey, however, decisions are reached by that most basic of all democratic bodies, the Parish Assembly, presided over by the Constable, of whom there is only one in each parish, and whose office bears a strong resemblance to that of "M. Le Maire" in a French village. To this assembly any ratepayer can go along, to speak and to vote. Even St. Helier is still a parish like any other; and a criticism sometimes heard is that a Parish Assembly is no longer truly democratic when only a few dozen ratepayers attend out of many thousands.
These honorary offices of local government involve a great deal of hard and unpaid work. As we have seen, the Guernseyman once elected is obliged to serve as Constable. The Jersey Constable, however, has even more onerous duties. Ex officio he has to attend meetings of the States. Driving and gun licences are issued on a parochial basis: it is the parish which levies rates, and which collects them. The Centenier, too, may at any moment be dragged out of bed, or away from his farm, in connection with a motor accident or case of petty theft at the far end of the parish.
It may be wondered why one young Jerseyman after another allows his name to be put forward for election as Vingtenier, the first rung on the ladder, which will involve a lifetime of heavy public service. I once put this question to the late Reverend Edward Lempriere, the saintly Rector of St. Martin's—the parish with which the Lemprieres have always been associated.
His eyes twinkled. 'You must remember,' he said, 'that the Constable has a great deal of power. And he is very proud to serve his parish, which his father and grandfather have probably served before him.'