page_title: Jersey
section_title: Politics
hierarchical_section_title: Jersey / Politics
caption_attribution_description: States Building, in St. Helier, Jersey, from States Chamber end, showing public entrance to legislature. Photo taken by Man vyi with Canon PowerShot A40 on 25/5/2005
context_page_description: Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is a British Crown dependency near the coast of Normandy, France. It is the second-closest of the Channel Islands to France, after Alderney.
  Jersey was part of the Duchy of Normandy, whose dukes went on to become kings of England from 1066. After Normandy was lost by the kings of England in the 13th century, and the ducal title surrendered to France, Jersey and the other Channel Islands remained attached to the English crown.
  The bailiwick consists of the island of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, along with surrounding uninhabited islands and rocks collectively named Les Dirouilles, Les Écréhous, Les Minquiers, Les Pierres de Lecq, and other reefs. Although the bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey are often referred to collectively as the Channel Islands, the "Channel Islands" are not a constitutional or political unit. Jersey has a separate relationship to the Crown from the other Crown dependencies of Guernsey and the Isle of Man, although all are held by the monarch of the United Kingdom.
context_section_description: Jersey's unicameral legislature is the States Assembly. It includes 49 elected members: 8 senators (elected on an island-wide basis), 12 Connétables (often called 'constables', heads of parishes) and 29 deputies (representing constituencies), all elected for four-year terms as from the October 2011 elections. There are also five non-voting members appointed by the Crown: the Bailiff, the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey, the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General and Solicitor General.  Jersey has one of the lowest voter turnouts internationally, with just 33% of the electorate voting in 2005, putting it well below the 77% European average for that year.
  The Council of Ministers, consisting of a Chief Minister and nine ministers, makes up part of the Government of Jersey. Each minister may appoint up to two assistant ministers. A Chief Executive is head of the civil service. Some government functions are carried out in the island's 12 parishes.
  The Bailiff is President (presiding officer) of the States Assembly, head of the judiciary and as civic head of the island carries out various ceremonial roles.
  As one of the Crown dependencies, Jersey is autonomous and self-governing, with its own independent legal, administrative and fiscal systems. In 1973, the Royal Commission on the Constitution set out the duties of the Crown as including: ultimate responsibility for the 'good government' of the Crown dependencies; ratification of island legislation by Order in Council (Royal Assent); international representation, subject to consultation with the island authorities before concluding any agreement which would apply to them; ensuring the islands meet their international obligations; and defence.
  Queen Elizabeth II reigns in Jersey as Queen of the United Kingdom and her other Realms and Territories.
  "The Crown" is defined by the Law Officers of the Crown as the "Crown in right of Jersey". The Queen's representative and adviser in the island is the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey. He is a point of contact between Jersey ministers and the United Kingdom government and carries out executive functions in relation to immigration control, deportation, naturalisation and the issue of passports. Since 13 March 2017, the incumbent Lieutenant Governor has been Sir Stephen Dalton.
caption: The States building in St. Helier
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