Jersey - Five things you might not realise
Date:
17 September 2018
1. The Bailiwick of Jersey is a Crown Dependency. It does not form part of the United Kingdom and is not a member of the European Union (EU).
2. Jersey has its own legal system. Jersey property transactions pass before the Royal Court. Only a qualified person, such as a solicitor, can present a contract to the Royal Court. Deeds and documents relating to land are registered in the Public Registry.
Jersey legislation can be accessed via the Jersey Legal Information Board. Whilst not an EU member state, Jersey implemented parts of the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD 2) into its own legislation to maintain it's place as a member of the SEPA scheme. When it came to data protection, Jersey had an EU adequacy decision and decided to maintain that by enacting new legislation for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
3. Jersey has its own Financial Services regulator called the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC). Jersey Companies are registered at the JFSC Companies Registry.
4. Jersey has a financial services ombudsman established under the Financial Services Ombudsman (Jersey) Law 2014. Jersey entered into a joint operation with Guernsey to form the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman (CIFO).
5. Jersey has an independent statutory authority that deals with data protection called the Office of the Jersey Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner for Jersey is also the Data Protection Commissioner for Guernsey.
Morton Fraser does not advise on Jersey law but our teams are happy to work alongside Jersey law firms.
