CONTENTS

Miscellany

Supporting a proscribed organisation1

Mitigating banking failures3

Articles

• Sentencing for sexual offences in the Channel Island courts

  Philip Bailhache6

  A difficult period of judicial inconsistency in relation to sentencing for sexual offences in Jersey has come to an end. The controversial issue was the extent to which it was desirable, or even permissible, for sentencing courts to refer to the Guidelines published by the Sentencing Council of England and Wales. A recent decision of the Superior Number of the Royal Court, sitting unusually with no fewer than nine Jurats, in Att Gen v Roberts has been endorsed by a five-judge Court of Appeal presided over by the (now) Bailiff of Jersey. The courts’ decisions permit occasional reference to the Guidelines as a “cross-check” but, more importantly, establish a more flexible framework for the approach to sentencing rather than guidelines to be rigidly applied. It will be interesting to see how this framework is interpreted by the courts.

• Roman Abramovich and the Jersey courts 2023–2025

  John Kelleher28

  In the spring of 2022, the Jersey authorities commenced an investigation into certain of the financial affairs of Roman Abramovich and a number of associated persons and entities. In support of the investigation it employed the ancillary procedures of a search warrant, a production order and a saisie of a significant quantum of assets in the jurisdiction. The response of those under investigation was a range of legal challenges which have generated significant jurisprudence on such subjects as the power of the courts to interfere in police investigations and the rights of a person under such investigation to privacy. This note provides an introductory guide to the caselaw so far.

• Guardians or gatekeepers? Trustee disclosure under Guernsey and Jersey Law

  Lorcan Higgins44

  This article examines the scope, application, and limitations of the trustee’s duty of disclosure under Guernsey and Jersey law in the contexts of beneficiary access, litigation, and third-party and governmental disclosure, with reference to relevant statutory provisions, case law, and data protection rules.

• The enforcement of (default) interest in Jersey Law

  Michael Kushner64

  This article considers the enforceability of interest in Jersey law. This covers both standard interest and default interest in the contractual context. It examines how Jersey law deals with penalty clauses and how that approach differs from English law. A historical analysis with particular focus on Justinian’s in duplum rule is provided in order to interrogate the basis of the Court’s jurisdiction to moderate (default) interest clauses.

Shorter Articles

• The public policy exception to the enforcement of New York Convention arbitration awards

  Robert Christie and Dominic Corsini-Meek77

  The public policy exception to the enforcement of New York Convention arbitration awards has recently been examined by the Jersey Court of Appeal. The court was not persuaded that a public policy (of civil immunity from liability arising as a result of compliance with sanctions legislation) existed during a period when there was no legislation in force containing such a policy.

Case Summaries83

Summary of Legislation: 1 May–31st August 2025

Bailiwick of Jersey105

Bailiwick of Guernsey

Guernsey105

Alderney118

Sark119

Book Review

• JM Smits, J Husa, C Valcke and M Narciso (eds), Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law

  Paul Matthews120