Bailiff of Jersey

19/06/2026

The King, on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, has been pleased to approve the appointment of Advocate Victoria Catharine Bell to the office of His Majesty’s Solicitor General of Jersey in succession of the previous Solicitor General, Mr Matthew Jowitt KC who succeeded Mr Mark Temple KC as His Majesty’s Attorney General.

Advocate Bell was educated at Jersey College for Girls, and the University of Exeter where she read English before converting to Law. In 2009 she was admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and in 2016 as an advocate of the Royal Court of Jersey. She has worked at the Law Officers’ Department since 2009, being made Senior Legal Adviser in 2024.

07/05/2026

For those of you who may not be able to join us in person on Liberation Day this Saturday 9 May we are live streaming the Service of Thanksgiving and re-enactment.

You can join us on YouTube by using the link below.

We will livestream the Liberation Day Service of Thanksgiving and re-enactment of the arrival of Force 135.

30/04/2026

As we're just over a week away from this year's Liberation Day celebrations on Saturday 9th May we thought it was the perfect time to share some of our favourite images from last year's 80th.

What a day it was!

www.liberationday.je has all of the information about this year's service of thanksgiving and re-enactment.

22/04/2026

The Australian and New Zealand communities in Jersey are invited to gather at the Cenotaph in the Parade at dawn on Saturday 25 April, 2026 to honour nationals who served in the two world wars and subsequent conflicts.

The ceremony will begin at 6am and we ask everyone to gather from 5.45am.

09/03/2026

Today the Commonwealth flag is raised in the centre of St Helier as a symbol of our unity with people across the world, in marking Commonwealth Day and reflecting on the values that unite this global community - democracy, peace, human rights, tolerance and mutual respect.

Our Island shares strong historic and cultural ties with many Commonwealth countries through our relationship with the Crown and our international outlook.

Today we celebrate those connections and reaffirm our commitment to cooperation, understanding and friendship across nations and communities.

03/03/2026

Like many islanders, I was saddened to hear of the passing of Sir David Kirch KBE.

He will always be remembered for his kindness and generosity, particularly to our senior citizens.

02/03/2026

This morning at 11:30am the Full Court will meet for the swearing-in of HM Attorney General, Mr Matthew Jowitt KC.

Upon the announcement of his appointment Mr Matthew Jowitt KC said “I am honoured to have the opportunity to serve Jersey as Attorney General, having been privileged to serve as Solicitor General since 2020. I look forward to continuing the good work of, and maintaining the very high standards set by, my predecessor Mark Temple KC and to working with my talented and supportive colleagues in the Law Officers’ Department.”

02/02/2026

The Bailiff, Robert MacRae attended the 28th conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth which took place in New Delhi, India last month.

The conference took place at the Parliament of India and was hosted by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Chair of the conference, Shri Om Birla. Representatives of 46 Parliamentary Assemblies were in attendance.

The conference was opened by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The Bailiff chaired a workshop attended by approximately half the delegates entitled “Innovative strategies to enhance public understanding of Parliament and citizen participation beyond voting” and reported the outcome of that discussion to the conference in plenary session on the second full day of the conference.

The Bailiff said: “It is always important and helpful to meet colleagues from across the Commonwealth to share insights, experiences and best practice, and to consider topics of importance to presiding officers of all Parliaments.

21/01/2026

It was announced to the States Assembly yesterday that His Majesty The King, on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, has been pleased to approve the appointment of Mr Matthew Jowitt KC as His Majesty's Attorney General for Jersey in succession to Mr Mark Howard Temple KC.

Mr Jowitt will take up the post of Attorney General for Jersey on Monday 2nd March.

20/01/2026

Several hundred people gathered in the Royal Court yesterday morning to attend the swearing in ceremony of the island's new Deputy Bailiff, former Attorney General Mr Mark Temple KC.

Both the Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff are Royal appointments and the ceremony began with the reading of the 'letters patent' from King Charles III, watched by the monarch's representative the Lieutenant Governor, Vice Admiral Sir Jerry Kyd KBE.

Thank you to the Jersey Evening Post for sharing these fabulous photographs of the occasion.