The Court of Chief Pleas of Guernsey Channel Islands

One of the most Ancient Feudal Courts in the world !

The Court of Chief Pleas is an ancient Court and is constituted in the same way as a Full Court. Nowadays it will typically sit only once per year. It is attended by the Full Court, the Law Officers of the Crown, Advocates and the Seigneurs and Bordiers owing suit to the Court.

In recent times it has become a Court dealing largely with ceremonial matters and sits at the start of the Legal Year. Speeches are made by the Bailiff and H.M. Procureur. The Court of Chief Pleas is held annually after Michaelmas and consists of the Bailiff sitting with a full Bench of sixteen Jurats. The official ceremony is usually held on the first monday in October. The day starts at about 930AM with the sitting of the Court with Full Dress of Robes, Uniforms, and Toques.

This Court is usually attended by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor. It is at this Court that a full roll call is made of all members of the Guernsey Bar, together with Parish Constables and Seigneurs. The business of this Court, other than the roll call, mainly comprises of the following:-

• Report regarding Charitable Funds administered by the Royal Court
• Report of Commissioner regarding Interception of Communications
• Report/recommendations for the renewal of Salle Publique Licences
• Report/recommendations for the renewal of Explosives Licences
• Constables' reports regarding the state of quarries within their Parishes
• Constables' reports regarding the state of the streams and water courses within their Parishes
• The opportunity may also be taken to admit to the Guernsey Bar qualified students.

The Court is followed by a Service at the Town Church to mark the start of the legal year and in the evening a traditional dinner is held, hosted by Her Majesty's Receiver General for Members of the Royal Court, Officers of the Court, Senior Constables and Seigneurs

Sometimes the dinner is held at the Old Government House in St. Peter Port.

All of these proceedings are controlled by the Law Officers of The Crown. www.gov.gg 

Seigneur of Sark with Commissioner George Mentz, Seigneur of Blondel

Introduction

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown Dependency in the English Channel off the coast of France. In addition to the island of Guernsey itself, it also includes Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jéthou, Brecqhou, Burhou and other small islands. With Jersey, they form thearchipelago known as the Channel Islands.

History

During the migration of the Bretons to theArmorica in the^sixth century, they occupied the Channel Islands (then called Lenur Islands)which were on their road. At that time, Guernsey was called Lesia. It was part of the kingdom of Brittany in the^ninth century, but was subject to Viking incursions from that time. In the year 933, the King of France gave the Avranchin and the Cotentin (on which Lesia/Guernsey depended) to the Duke of Normandy Guillaume Longue-Epée, at load for him to conquer them.

THE island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last vestiges of the medieval Duchy of Normandy, divided since 1204 between theEngland and France. That year, the King of France Philip Augustus conquered mainland Normandy, the King of England John without Earth retaining the Channel Islands. Despite numerous French attempts, Guernsey and its neighbors remained under the scepter of the King of England, reigning here under the title of "Duke of Normandy".

These islands were the only dependent territories of the British crown occupied by Germany during the Second World War and were the scene of Operation Ambassador.

Politics

The States of Guernsey, officially referred to as the "States of Deliberation", consist of 59 members, 45 of whom are MPs, elected by districts with one or more members every 4 years, and 10 are parish treasurers representing the parish authorities. There are 2 representatives of Alderney and Sark, which are self-governing dependencies of the bailiwick. There are also 2 non-voting members - the Attorney General and the Advocate General, both appointed by the Sovereign. Laws passed by states are called 'Ordinances'.

Government of Guernsey

Since 2004 there has been a system of ministerial government. The legal system is derived from Norman and English laws.

Feudal system

Without any political or judicial power for several decades, guernsey's feudal system has been maintained until our days. There are officially 75 fiefdoms, headed by a "lord", or a "lady". The British Crown in the person of the Duke of Normandy, Queen Elizabeth II actually owns 29 of her fiefs, most of which belonged to abbeys or lower Norman priories, before the sixteenth^century.   In fact, in 2004, there were 24 private lords totaling 46 lordships inherited from this feudal system, with the exception that two of these 46 lordships are in joint ownership between several owners. These fiefdoms belong to very old local lineages that have given many officers, bailiffs, jurats and lawyers. These few families reunite in their hands, following endogamous marriages, several of the small rural fiefdoms, resulting from the partitions made during history, according to the precepts of Norman customary law, still in force.

As in England and according to a centuries-old system, fiefs can be sold by lords to other individuals. Each lord is bound, according to custom, to make faith and homage to the Duke or his representative. This tribute is sometimes staged during the Queen's state visits to the Channel Islands.

Unlike the lord of Sark, the Gueurnesiais lords retained only feudal rights, but lost all their proper seigneurial rights since the nineteenth^century and in the following. The lords played a social role until the first half of the twentieth^century. The feudal courts have also practically disappeared, with the exception of the courts of the fief Le Comte (Lenfestey family) or the fief of Blanchelande (to the bailiff of Guernsey, ex officio,in Saint-Martin). The seneschal of a fief, and his officers were usually chosen from among the inhabitants of the fief, as required by feudal customs. In the example of the fief of Blanchelande, which once belonged to a priory of the old Blanchelande Abbey (in Neufmesnil, France, Manche), the court of the fief still consists today of the seneschal, four vavasseurs, and the officers who are the clerk and his clerk, the provost, a sergeant and a granary. In the fiefs, this court was held either in a special room or room of the pleas, or on a stone bench located on a main axis of the lordship. Some of these benches have been preserved.

The Feudal Duees Law Act of 1980 definitively extinguished the private nature of the remaining seigneurial royalties by transferring them to the Crown. In 2002, a supplementary law provided for the abolition in 2003 of the right of "thirteenth" (transfer duty) for the benefit of private lords, because of the exemption enjoyed by farms held in fiefs and francs fiefs (seigneuries). This tax now goes to the Crown.

The lords and ladies of the most important Guernsey fiefdoms traditionally sit on the Court of Chief Pleas,with the lawyers practising on the island and the elected constables of the parishes, during its solemn sittings "in body" (or full court) three times a year. To sit, lords and ladies must have rendering tribute from their fief to the Crown or its representative, the Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey. However, even if the presence of the lords and ladies is obligatory at these three sessions, they no longer opine in the debate but only respond to their name. This survival indicates, however, that the Guernsey lordships have retained their moral and legal personalities.

Became owners of several seigneuries (in English: manors),a certain number of stately dwellings have been converted into hotel luxury (Hotel de La Barbarie, for the fief of Blanchelande, or the manor from Longueville to Saint-Sauveur), or all simply sold, which is permitted under customary law. Some lords have maintained the estate rich in rare botanical essences, and open it to the visit, such as the manor ofSausmarez (Sausmarez Manor). It still belongs to the family of Sausmarez, one of the oldest on the island with that of Carteret.

One situation Similar exists in Jersey.

Justice

Justice is administered by the Court of Chief Pleas, which is composed of professionalmagistratesfor its ordinary sittings. around of the Bailiff and the jurats, and of the bodies constituted for its three annual "in body" sessions (including hereditary lords and ladies, and the elected constables of the parishes).

International status

The Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey and the Isle of Man are considered by the Council of theEurope (by the Treaty Office and its legal services) as territories for whose international relations the United Kingdom is responsible. These territories do not have the international legal personality that would allow them to be parties to Council of Europe treaties. On the other hand, where the United Kingdom is a party to a Council of Europe treaty, it may (in agreement with the territories concerned) declare that that treaty applies (or not) to those territories.

The absence of legal personality does not mean, however, that they are assimilated to the United Kingdom or the EU, whose State was formed by the Union of the former Kingdoms of England and Scotland and the Duchy of the Country of Wales). But historically, the Duchy of Normandy has never formally ceased to exist as a state (which has become independent of the Kingdom of France) even though it only remained thereafter on its last island lands.

Although previously grouped under the name "BritishIsles" (British Isles,not to be confused with British Islands),the bailiwicks gained greater autonomy with the creation of states like here in Guernsey, independent of the States of Jersey.

The question therefore arises today about the recognition of the bailiwicks of the Crown as a State, even without legal personality at the international level (which seems to no longer be the case since the creation of the "States of Jersey", "the States of Guernsey" and "those of Man" (note the plural), and the ongoing modernization of old medieval legislation.

The registration of the Seigneur of Fief Thomas Blondel directly with the Crown in the Royal Courts indicates a few significant points about the nature of this seigneurial title and its relationship with the Crown:

1. Direct Vassalage: The Seigneur of Fief Thomas Blondel holds the fief directly from the Crown, meaning there are no intermediate lords between the seigneur and the monarch. This direct vassalage establishes a unique and prestigious connection with the Crown like larger fiefs in history such as Monaco or Alsace-Lorraine.

2. Historical Significance: Such direct registration typically means that the fief and its seigneurial title have historical importance, often dating back many centuries. These titles were usually granted for services rendered to the Crown or as part of feudal agreements.

3. Legal Recognition: Being registered in the Royal Courts ensures that the title and its associated rights and privileges are legally recognized and protected. This registration helps maintain the continuity and legitimacy of the title through successive generations.

Seigneurs of Guernsey with Commissioner Mentz on the Right as Foreign Dignitary

1. Rights and Duties: The seigneur may have certain traditional rights and responsibilities, which could include the administration of justice within the fief, collection of certain feudal dues, and participation in ceremonial or local governance roles. However, the extent of these rights and duties can vary and may have been modified by modern laws and reforms.

2. Ceremonial Role: In contemporary times, many of the practical aspects of seigneurial power have been reduced or are purely ceremonial. However, the historical and cultural significance of the title often remains, and the seigneur may still play a role in local events and traditions.

Overall, the registration of the Seigneur of Fief Thomas Blondel with the Crown underscores the enduring legacy and formal recognition of this seigneurial title within the legal and historical framework of the Channel Islands.