page_title: States Assembly
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: States Assembly / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The Royal coat of arms of Great Britain of the Hanoverian period (1714 – 1801, pertaining to George II) on States Building, Saint Helier, Jersey. Deutsch: Das Königswappen von Großbritannien von der hannoverschen Periode (1714 – 1801, Georgs II. angebracht) am Parlamentsgebäude in Saint Helier auf der Insel Jersey.
context_page_description: The States Assembly is the parliament of the British Crown dependency of Jersey.
  The origins of the legislature of Jersey lie in the system of self-government according to Norman law guaranteed to the Channel Islands by John, King of England, following the division of Normandy in 1204. The States Assembly has exercised uncontested legislative powers since 1771, when the concurrent law-making power of the Royal Court of Jersey was abolished.
  The Assembly passes and amends laws and regulations; approves the annual budget and taxation; appoints and removes the Chief Minister, ministers, presidents and members of committees; debates matters proposed by the Council of Ministers, by ministers or by individual members. Members are also able to ask questions to find out information and to hold ministers to account. Executive powers are exercised by a Chief Minister and nine ministers, elected from among the members of the Assembly and known collectively as the Council of Ministers. Ministers are accountable to the assembly for the conduct of their departments.
context_section_description: The legislature derives its name from the estates (French: états) of the Crown (represented by the Bailiff and Jurats), the Church (the rectors of the parishes) and the people (represented by the Connétables) from whom the assembly was originally summoned.
  Jersey's political history begins as part of the Duchy of Normandy. However when the King of France stripped King John of England of the title ‘Duke of Normandy’ the people of Jersey and the other Channel Islands rebelled against the French King maintaining the sovereignty of the 'rightful' Duke.
  In 1259 Henry III signed the Treaty of Paris resigning his claim to the Duchy of Normandy except the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands were not absorbed into the Kingdom of England but two offices were appointed; Warden (now Lieutenant Governor) and Bailiff.
  Originally the Royal Court had legislative power but by the sixteenth century a legislative assembly within the Royal Court was convened. The Royal Court and the States both legislated until with the fixing in 1771 of the Code des Lois it was established that the States had a legislative monopoly.
  The earliest extant Act of the States dates from 1524. The States are mentioned in a document of 1497 regarding the endowments of the grammar schools; by 1526 attendance by members at the assembly was evidently a requirement, as in that year the Rector of Saint Mary was fined for failure to attend.
  In the early seventeenth century separate minutes of the States of Jersey were first recorded.
  When the monarchy was restored, King Charles II who had escaped to Jersey on his way to exile in France rewarded Jersey with the power to levy customs duties. This power, exercised by the Assembly of Governor, Bailiff and Jurats, was finally taken over by the States of Jersey in 1921, thereby enabling the States to control the budget independently of the Lieutenant Governor.
  The States voted on 6 November 1856 to adopt a law to add 14 Deputies to the assembly to counterbalance the mismatch of population and voting power between town and country. The first Deputies were elected 12 January 1857.
  The first election by secret ballot was held 1 December 1891.
  Until the constitutional reforms brought about in 1948 to strengthen the separation between legislature and judiciary, Jurats were the senior politicians, elected for life by islandwide suffrage, and were the presidents of committees and sat in the Royal Court. In 1948 the Jurats were replaced in the legislature by Senators, who at first were elected on an island-wide basis for mandates of 9 years (subsequently reduced to 6 years). The rectors were also removed from the States in 1948 (with the exception of the Dean as Rector of St. Helier, who remained but lost his vote), and replaced by an increased number of Deputies.
  The urban-rural cleavage which successive reforms have attempted to address remains. The less populated rural parishes enjoy an electoral advantage over the densely populated urban parishes due to the inequity of the distribution of seats when compared to population.
  A report produced under the chairmanship of Sir Cecil Clothier proposed a range of administrative reforms aimed at improving the machinery of government, including ending the distinction between Senators and Deputies, the removal of the Constables from the States and the removal of the Bailiff. Under the proposals, all members of the States would have the title Member of the States of Jersey (MSJ). This was rejected, although proposals to revive it were made by Deputy Geoff Southern in 2013.
  Other aspects of the report, especially concerning the rôle of Connétable, met with intense opposition at public meetings in the parishes. The ministerial system has been introduced in an amended form to that proposed by Clothier.
  The system of executive government was changed significantly by the States of Jersey Law 2005.
caption: Royal coat of arms (Hanoverian) on the States building in St. Helier
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