ROYAL COURT OF JERSEY
RC 20/10
Guide
for interlocutory hearings before the Master of the Royal Court or the
Judicial Greffier
Until further notice because of the ongoing corona virus pandemic and
social distancing requirements, where a hearing is required before the Master
of the Royal Court (which shall include the Judicial Greffier)
the following approach will be taken.
1.
For
all existing and new summonses, a date fix appointment should be sought in the
usual way. By the time set for a date fix hearing, the Master will indicate
whether an oral hearing is required or whether a summons may be determined on
the papers. He will also decide whether a
hearing will take place in person or using Starleaf.
2.
For
hearings likely to last less than 1 hour, they will be conducted on line using Starleaf unless the Master determines otherwise. Hearings likely to last more than 1 hour
will usually take place in person.
3.
For
a Directions Hearing, the Master will set a date by which the parties are to
file their suggested directions, together with any necessary explanation and
supporting documentation to justify the directions sought where these are not
self-explanatory. Any explanation or supporting documentation should be as
concise as possible.
4.
In
advance of the specified filing date, the parties and their advisors should
endeavour to reach agreement on the proposed directions. The Master will then
issue a decision on any remaining areas of disagreement with brief reasons
where an explanation is required.
If any oral submissions are required the parties will be notified and a
short hearing fixed.
5.
For
all other hearings, a date for a hearing will be fixed in the usual way. If
there are multiple summonses in the same matter the Master will determine prior
to the date fix whether the summonses can be heard together, having regard to
this guidance, and, if a single hearing is not possible, the order in which
they are to be heard. This may include different issues raised by a summons
being dealt with at different hearings.
6.
The
Master will also fix a timetable for the filing of any evidence or submissions
required to determine the summons. To assist the Master, when issuing a summons
the application should be accompanied by a suggested timetable for the filing
of evidence. The other party(ies) should file any
comments in response by the time of the date fix hearing. Please note that any skeletons
should be exchanged one week before any hearing rather than 2 working
days. The Master may revisit the timetable set at any stage on receipt of any
evidence or skeleton arguments.
7.
In
relation to bundles for Starleaf hearings, these
should be filed electronically with the Master’s secretary and should be
as concise as possible with only necessary authorities and affidavits. For
lengthy decisions, relevant extracts in their context will be adequate. For
exhibits only, a bundle should only contain a document (or a relevant part for
lengthy documents) a party wishes to refer to. Each tab of the bundle should describe
its contents.
8.
For
all other hearings bundles should be filed in strict compliance with Practice
Direction RC18/02 Production and Content of bundles for the use in the Royal
Court.
9.
Once
all evidence and submissions are filed for any hearing, the Master may give an
indication of what questions he wishes the parties to focus on, whether any
further evidence is needed and whether he has reached any preliminary view on
any of the issues in dispute. This is to assist the parties and should not be
taken to be a final determination.
10.
Those
taking part in a hearing by Starleaf will have to
provide an email address to the Master’s secretary. If this is a personal
email it will only be used for the call and will not be retained after the
call. The call will be recorded and a copy retained in the usual way.
11.
When
logging in an attendee must insert their full name and use the email address
previously provided to the Master’s secretary
12.
During
the hearing the Master will determine the order in which he is to be addressed
and any necessary rules to conduct the hearing. The Master will have a camera and microphone
on at all times. A party or legal representative intending to address the Master
should have a video on and should be clearly visible. A party’s microphone
should be muted unless addressing the Master. If a party wishes to intervene
they should turn their microphone on and the Master will invite the participant
to speak at an appropriate moment. All other attendees should have cameras and
mikes off i.e. they may listen only.
13.
No
recordings or other images of the hearing may be taken or downloaded. Any
breach of this rule will be a contempt of court.
14.
Attire
appropriate to the dignity of a court hearing is required as far as possible.
15.
The
court will either announce its decision at the end of the hearing or may
reserve its decision in the usual way. Any decision will be recorded in an Act
of Court. The court may provide oral reasons, written reasons or a written
judgment.
This Practice Direction will come into force with immediate effect and
will replace Practice Direction RC20/04 which is repealed.