Bailiff (Channel Islands) - Bailiff of Guernsey

Bailiff of Guernsey

The Bailiff of Guernsey was less clearly delineated as to separation of legislative or administrative and judicial functions than that of the Bailiff of Jersey. He was head of the Administration in Guernsey and presided over a number of States Committees, functions now abolished.

In 2000, the European Court of Human Rights held in McGonnell v United Kingdom that there was a breach of Article 6 in Guernsey where the Bailiff or Deputy Bailiff sat as President of the States of Guernsey when proposed legislation was being debated and then subsequently sat as a judge of the Royal Court of Guernsey in a case where that legislation was relevant. The Court, noting that there was no suggestion that the Bailiff 'was subjectively biased', stated that the 'mere fact' that this happened was capable of casting doubt on the Bailiff's impartiality.