Compulsory Purchase
of Land (Procedure) (Jersey) Law 1961[1]
A LAW to prescribe the procedure for the
acquisition of land by compulsory purchase on behalf of the public of Jersey
Commencement [see endnotes]
1 Interpretation
In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires –
“acquiring authority” means the Minister charged with
the administration of the relevant Special Law;
“Board” has the meaning assigned thereto by Article 8;
“land” includes houses, buildings and structures on
land, water, interests in land or water and servitudes or rights in, on or over
land or water;
“owner” includes a usufructuary and the husband of a feme covert;
“Special Law” has the meaning assigned by Article 2.
2 Application of the provisions of this Law
(1) The provisions of this Law
shall apply only where, by a Law (in this Law
referred to as a “Special Law”), power is conferred on the States
to acquire land by compulsory purchase on behalf of the public in accordance
with the provisions of this Law but not otherwise, and, in any such case, the
provisions of this Law shall apply in relation to the acquisition of the land,
save so far as they are expressly varied or excepted by such Special Law.[2]
(2) Where under the
provisions of a Special Law the power to acquire land by compulsory purchase
includes the power to –
(a) acquire
a servitude or other right over land by the creation of a new servitude or
right; or
(b) extinguish
or modify a servitude or other right over land,
references in this Law to the acquisition of land or of an interest
in land shall be construed as including references to the exercise of any of
the powers referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b).[3]
3 Plan to be prepared and money voted
No land may be acquired by compulsory purchase on behalf of the
public unless –
(a) a plan showing the land
to be acquired has been approved by the States; and
(b) a credit of the monies
necessary to meet the expenses to be incurred in the acquisition of the land
has been voted by the States.
4 Preliminary notices
(1) Subject as provided by Article 6(1),
the Greffier of the States shall serve a notice on
every owner, lessee and occupier of the land to be acquired, of which a
sufficient description shall be contained in the notice, requiring each of them
to notify the Greffier of the States, in writing,
within such period as the acquiring authority deems appropriate having regard
to the circumstances of the case (which period shall in no case be less than 28
days after the service of the notice) of the owner’s, lessee’s or
occupier’s interest in the land and of the amount of the compensation
which the owner, lessee or occupier is prepared to accept for such interest:
Provided that no such notice shall be served on any lessee or
occupier whose interest in the land it is not intended to acquire in accordance
with the provisions of this Law.[4]
(2) The notice aforesaid shall,
if need be, state the time at which vacant possession of the land will be
required.
(3) If any owner, lessee or
occupier of the land refuses or neglects to comply with the requirements
contained in the notice served on the owner, lessee or occupier in pursuance of
paragraph (1) or if the acquiring authority considers that the amount of
the compensation which the owner, lessee or occupier is prepared to accept is
excessive, then, unless the acquiring authority is of the opinion that it is
unnecessary that the interest should be acquired in accordance with the
provisions of this Law, the Greffier of the States
shall serve a notice informing the owner, lessee or occupier of the amount of
the compensation which the acquiring authority offers to pay and notifying the
owner, lessee or occupier that, if the offer be not accepted within 8 days
after the service of the notice, the interest will be acquired and compensation
assessed in manner hereafter in this Law provided.[5]
5 Power to vest land in public[6]
(1) Where, after the
expiration of the period referred to in Article 4(3), the owner, lessee or
occupier of the land has not accepted the offer of the acquiring authority, the
Greffier of the States shall, on giving at least 8 days notice of the Greffier’s
intention so to do to the said owner, lessee or occupier, apply to the Inferior
Number of the Royal Court for an order that the land be vested in the public.
(2) The Inferior Number of
the Royal Court, on an application made in pursuance of paragraph (1),
shall, if satisfied that the provisions of this Law have been complied with, order
that the land be vested in the public and that a record of the title of the
public be registered in the Public Registry of Contracts.
(3) A record registered
under paragraph (2) shall have like effect to a contract passed before the
Royal Court and shall constitute a valid title to the land and to the rights
appertaining thereto, and such title shall bear the date of the order of the
Court.
(4) A record registered as
aforesaid shall not be renounced for want of insertion in the register of a décret if it bears
a date prior to that of the insertion on which a tenant
is confirmed in the tenure of the real estate en décret.
6 Land belonging to infants
(1) Where the owner of any
land to be acquired is an infant, or, if there is more than one owner, where
any such owner is an infant, the compensation for the interest of the infant or
of each such owner, as the case may be, shall be assessed in manner hereafter
in this Law provided and, accordingly, the notice to be served in pursuance of Article 4(1)
on the owner of the land shall contain only a sufficient description of the
land, a statement of the time at which vacant possession will be required and a
statement that the compensation will be assessed as aforesaid.
(2) Where any land is
acquired from an infant in accordance with the provisions of this Law, neither the
infant nor the infant’s heirs may disclaim the transaction or claim
possession of the land in any manner whatsoever.
7 Payment for land acquired
Where there are any charges on the land, the States shall undertake
to discharge the same up to the amount of the compensation, being, where such
amount is agreed between the acquiring authority and the owner, the amount so
agreed, or, where it is assessed in manner hereafter in this Law provided, the
amount so assessed, and, where that amount exceeds the amount of the charges
thereon, the States may discharge the balance by a cash payment or by the
creation of new rentes or by the assignment of anciennes rentes:
Provided that where any owner of the land is an infant or a person
under interdiction or a feme covert, the States shall be bound to discharge the compensation for the
acquisition of his or her interest in the land, or the balance thereof, by the
creation of new rentes or simple conventional hypothecs in favour of such owner which
shall not be reimbursable at the instance of the States –
(a) where
the owner is an infant, until the expiration of one year after the infant has
attained majority;
(b) where
the owner is a person under interdiction, until the expiration of one year
after the person’s reinstatement or, if the person is not reinstated, one
year after the person’s death.
8 Board of Arbitrators
(1) For the purpose of this
Law, there shall be a Board to be known as the “Board of
Arbitrators” which shall consist of a Chairman and 2 other persons and
which shall be constituted, as the need arises, in accordance with the
provisions of Article 9.
(2) The Superior Number of
the Royal Court shall appoint at least 6 persons to form a panel of persons who
may be called on to serve as members of the Board.[7]
(3) The constitution of the
said panel may be reviewed from time to time and the Superior Number of the
Royal Court may make such additions thereto or deletions therefrom as it
considers necessary.
9 Application for submission of questions to Board
Where it is necessary to determine any question as to compensation,
or, where any part of the land to be acquired is subject to a lease which
comprises land not to be acquired, any question as to the apportionment of the
rent payable under the lease, the Greffier of the
States shall make application to the Inferior Number of the Royal Court for an order
that the question be referred to and determined by the arbitration of the Board
and the Court shall appoint a Chairman of the Board, and shall designate 2
persons from the panel appointed under Article 8(2) as the other members
of the Board, for the purposes of the arbitration.[8]
10 Rules for the assessment of compensation
(1) In assessing
compensation, the Board shall act in accordance with the following rules –
(a) no
allowance shall be made on account of the fact that the acquisition is
compulsory;
(b) the
value of the land shall, subject as hereinafter provided, be taken to be the
amount which the land might have been expected to realize if sold on the open
market by a willing seller on the date on which the Inferior Number of the
Royal Court made the order vesting the land in the public;
(c) where
the land is severed from other land in the same ownership and the value of the
retained land is reduced by reason of the severance, the amount of the
reduction shall be taken into account;
(d) where
a servitude or other right over land is acquired by the creation of a new
servitude or right and the value of that land is reduced by reason of the
acquisition of the servitude or right, the amount of the reduction shall be
taken into account;
(e) where
the value of land entitled to the benefit of a servitude or other right over
other land is reduced by reason of the extinguishment or modification of that
servitude or right, the amount of the reduction shall be taken into account;
(f) the
special suitability or adaptability of the land for any purpose shall not be
taken into account if that purpose is a purpose to which it could be applied
only in pursuance of statutory powers, or for which there is no market apart
from the special needs of a particular purchaser or the requirements of any
public or parochial authority;
(g) where
the value of the land is increased by reason of the use thereof or of any
premises thereon in a manner which could be restrained by any court, or is
contrary to law, or is detrimental to the health of the inmates of the premises
or to the public health, the amount of that increase shall not be taken into
account;
(h) where
land is, and but for the compulsory acquisition would continue to be, devoted
to a purpose of such a nature that there is no general demand or market for
land for that purpose, the compensation may, if the Board is satisfied that
reinstatement in some other place is bona fide intended, be assessed on the
basis of the reasonable cost of equivalent reinstatement;
(i) the
Board shall not take into account any interest in land, or any enhancement of
the value of any interest in land by reason of any building erected, work done
or improvement or alteration made, whether on the land purchased or on any
other land with which the person claiming the compensation is, or was at the
time of the erection, doing or making of the building, works, improvement or
alteration, directly or indirectly concerned, if the Board is satisfied that
the creation of the interest, the erection of the building, the doing of the
work, the making of the improvement or the alteration, as the case may be, was
not reasonably necessary, and was undertaken with a view to obtaining
compensation or increased compensation;
(j) the
provisions of sub-paragraph (b) shall not affect the assessment of
compensation for disturbance or any other matter not directly based on the
value of land.[9]
(2) For the purposes of
this Article, the Board shall be entitled to be furnished with such returns and
assessments relating to the land as it may require.
11 Payment of compensation[10]
(1) Subject to the
provisions of paragraph (3), where land has been vested in the public in
accordance with Article 5 the acquiring authority shall forthwith pay to
the vendor –
(a) 75%
of the amount of compensation offered under Article 4(3); or
(b) where
there are charges on the land, 75% of any balance remaining after deduction of
those charges from the amount of compensation offered under Article 4(3).
(2) Where the amount of
compensation assessed by the Board in pursuance of Article 10 is in excess
of the amount paid under paragraph (1), the States shall pay to the vendor
the difference between those amounts, together with interest thereon at the
rate specified in paragraph (4).
(3) The provisions of this Article
shall not apply in the case of land in respect of which, by virtue of Article 7,
the compensation, or the balance thereof, is to be discharged by the creation
of simple conventional hypothecs, the creation of new rentes, or the assignment of anciennes rentes, and accordingly,
there shall be added to the amount of compensation assessed by the Board in
pursuance of Article 10 in respect of such land interest at the rate
specified in paragraph (4).
(4) For the purposes or paragraphs (2)
and (3) interest shall be payable at such rate as shall from day to day
correspond with Bank of England’s Minimum Lending Rate, compounded at
yearly rests, from the date on which the Inferior Number of the Royal Court
made the order vesting the land in the public to the date of registration of
the award of the Board.
12 Procedure before Board
(1) In any proceedings
before the Board, not more than one expert witness on either side shall be
heard unless the Board otherwise directs:
Provided that, where the claim includes a claim for disturbance of
business, as well as in respect of land, one additional expert witness on
either side may be heard with regard to the damage by reason of the
disturbance.
(2) The Board shall be
entitled to enter on and inspect any land which is the subject of proceedings
before it, and may, if it thinks fit, cause the land to be measured by a public
surveyor.
(3) Proceedings before the
Board shall be held in public.
(4) Subject as aforesaid,
the States may make Regulations prescribing the procedure before the Board.
13 Decisions of the Board
A decision of the Board shall be taken by the votes of the majority
of the members:
Provided that in the event of a failure on the part of any 2 members
of the Board to agree on the amount of compensation which should properly be
awarded, the Chairman of the Board shall determine the amount, but, in any such
case, the amount so determined shall be not lower than, nor in excess of, the
amounts which, in the opinion of the other members of the Board, should be
awarded.
14 Finality of award and statement of special cases
(1) The decision of the
Board on any question of fact shall be final and binding on the parties and the
persons claiming under them respectively, but the Board may, and if the
Inferior Number of the Royal Court so directs shall, state at any stage of the
proceedings in the form of a special case for the opinion of the Court, any
question of law arising in the course of the proceedings, and may state its
award as to the whole or part thereof in the form of a special case for the
opinion of the Court.
(2) The decision of the
Inferior Number of the Royal Court on any case so stated shall be final and
conclusive, and shall not be subject to appeal to any other court.
15 Registration of award of Board[11]
(1) The award of the Board
shall specify the amount awarded in respect of each matter the subject of the
award and, insofar as the award relates to the acquisition of land on which
there are charges which the States are bound under Article 7 to discharge,
the amount specified shall be the balance after deduction of the charges.
(2) The Inferior Number of
the Royal Court shall, on the application of the Greffier
of the States, order the registration of the award of the Board in the Rolls of
the Royal Court.
16 Fees and expenses
(1) There shall be paid to
the members of the Board fees in accordance with such scale as the States may
by Regulations determine.
(2) The fees of the Board
and all expenses incurred in proceedings under this Law shall be paid by the
acquiring authority subject to reimbursement by any other party in accordance
with an order of the Board under Article 17.[12]
17 Costs[13]
(1) Subject to the following
provisions of this Article, the Board may order that the costs or any part of
the costs of any proceedings before it incurred by any party shall be paid by
any other party and may tax or settle the amount of any costs to be paid under
any such order or direct in what manner they are to be taxed.
(2) In considering the
exercise of its power under paragraph (1) the Board shall have particular
regard to any offer of a sum in compensation or any notice of preparedness to
accept a sum in compensation made by a party to the proceedings before it.
(3) Where the Board orders
the claimant to pay the costs, or any part of the costs, of the acquiring
authority, the authority may deduct the amount so payable by the claimant from
the amount of the compensation payable to the claimant.
(4) Notwithstanding the
foregoing provisions of this Article, the Board shall not order a claimant in
proceedings which are before the Board by virtue of Article 6 to pay the
costs of the acquiring authority.
(5) In this Article
“costs” includes any fees, charges and expenses of the arbitration
or award.
18 Dower rights
A person entitled either actually or contingently to dower on land
acquired by compulsory purchase may not claim such dower by actual possession
of the land, but shall be entitled to such dower on the basis of the
compensation assessed in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Law.
19 Protection of the public against dispossession
(1) The public may not in
any circumstances as the result of a décret, a dégrèvement or an order made
under Article 17 of the Bankruptcy (Désastre) (Jersey) Law 1990 be dispossessed of any land
acquired in accordance with the provisions of this Law, nor shall the public be
required, in order to retain the property and possession of such land, to be
confirmed in the tenure thereof, nor to take any of the proceedings prescribed
by the enactments relating to décrets
and dégrèvements,
but the public shall nevertheless be bound to comply with the conditions
mentioned in Article 50 of the Loi (1880) sur la Propriété
Foncière.[14]
(2) Where the amount of the
compensation for the compulsory acquisition of any land has been assessed in
accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Law, the amount so assessed
and set out in the award of the Board shall be deemed to be the value of the
land for the purposes of Article 50 of the Loi (1880) sur la Propriété Foncière.
(3) Where any land has been
acquired by agreement with the owner thereof and the value thereof has been
assessed at the time of the acquisition in conformity with the provisions of Article 51
of the Loi (1880) sur la Propriété Foncière, the value thereof shall be deemed to be
the value assessed as aforesaid, and, where the value has not been so assessed,
the consideration for the acquisition of the land stated in the contract of
acquisition shall be taken as the value of the land.
(4) References in paragraph (1)
to the public shall be construed as references to the public and to any
successor in title to the public.[15]
20 Power to pay allowances to persons displaced[16]
(1) Where any land is
acquired in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the acquiring authority
may –
(a) pay
to any person displaced from a house or other building on that land such
reasonable allowance as it thinks fit towards the person’s expenses in
removing therefrom; and
(b) pay
to any person carrying on a trade or business in any such house or building,
such reasonable allowance as it thinks fit towards the loss which, in its
opinion, the person will sustain by reason of the disturbance of the person’s
trade or business consequent on the person’s having to quit the house or
building.
(2) In estimating the loss
of any person for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), the acquiring
authority shall have regard to the period for which the premises occupied by the
person might reasonably have been expected to have been available for the
purpose of the person’s trade or business, and to the availability of
other premises suitable for that purpose.
21 Power to sell land acquired
It shall be lawful for the States to sell any land acquired in
accordance with the provisions of this Law, or any part thereof, to such
persons and for such considerations as they may think fit.
22 Notices
(1) Any notice required or
authorized to be served by the Greffier of the States
for the purposes of this Law may be served either –
(a) by
delivering it to the person on whom it is to be served;
(b) by
leaving it at the usual or last-known place of abode of that person or, in the
case of a company, at its registered office or its principal place of business;
(c) by
forwarding it by post addressed to that person at the person’s usual or
last-known place of abode or, in the case of a company, at its registered
office or its principal place of business; or
(d) by
delivering it to some person on the premises to which it relates or, if there
is no person on the premises, then by fixing it on some conspicuous part of the
premises.
(2) Any notice required or
authorized to be served by the Greffier of the States
on the owner, lessee or occupier of any land for the purposes of this Law may
be addressed by the description of “owner”, “lessee” or
“occupier” of the land (naming it) without further name or
description.
23 Citation
This Law may be cited as the Compulsory Purchase of Land (Procedure)
(Jersey) Law 1961.