News

States Meeting Summary 26 February

Public Business 

The Meeting began with the continuation of the debate into the Draft Assisted Dying Law, as amended. 

The Council of Ministers had proposed to introduce the Assisted Dying (Jersey) Law which would allow a person who has a terminal illness and who is experiencing, or expected to experience, unbearable suffering to choose to end their life with the help of a medical professional.  

They must: 

• Be aged 18 or over and have been resident in Jersey for at least 12 months. 

• Have been assessed by medical professionals and diagnosed with a physical condition that is expected to cause their death within 6 months, or 12 months if the condition involves degeneration of the nervous system. 

• Have the capacity to make the decision, which must be voluntary, clearly expressed, settled, and informed.  

Read more:  bit.ly/4g60eBa 

The Assembly voted to APPROVE the Council of Ministers’ proposition, as amended, with 32 votes for, 16 votes against and 0 abstentions. 

You can see how Members voted here.  

Skip to 5 minutes into this morning’s recording to watch the debate in full. 

P.85 Draft Marriage and Civil Partnership (Dissolution and Separation) (Jersey) Law 202-. 

The Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Deputy Mary Le Hegarat, proposed to establish the principle of ‘no fault’ dissolution for both marriages and civil partnerships. 

This will allow both parties to apply for a dissolution; remove the ability to contest a dissolution application; enable future consideration to be given to pension matters, including ‘pension sharing’; and allow the Court to refer couples to alternative dispute resolution services. 

It would also do away with the minimum time-period of three years before a marriage or civil partnership dissolution can be sought.  

The Minister also proposed, via an amendment, editorial amendments to the proposition that improve certain provisions, following queries by the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel.  

The Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister’s proposition, as amended, with 46 votes for, 0 votes against and 0 abstentions. 

You can see how Members voted here.  

Skip to 1 hour and 51 minutes into this morning’s recording to watch the debate in full. 

P.121 Draft Heritage (Jersey) Law 202- 

The Minister for Sustainable Economic Development, Deputy Kirsten Morel, proposed a new law to set out the legal obligations for reporting, recording, investigating and preserving objects and sites of archaeological significance. 

The law would also: 

• Place the Historic Environment Record, maintained by Jersey Heritage, on a statutory footing 

• Introduce powers to create a licensing system for any intrusive investigations in non-designated areas, such as the foreshore or seabed 

• Provide a fair reward system for finders and landowners, while ensuring objects of national significance remain accessible to the public.  

The Assembly voted to APPROVE the Minister’s proposition, with 43 votes for, 0 votes against and 0 abstentions. 

You can see how Members voted here. 

Skip to 2 hours and 26 minutes into this morning’s recording to watch the start of the debate, and to the start of this afternoon’s recording for the conclusion of the debate.  

P.122 Draft Treaties (Jersey) Law 202- 

The Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Farnham, proposed a new law that would require any international treaties entered into by Jersey, or applied or extended to the Island, to be presented to the States Assembly before coming into force. The Chief Minister lodged an amendment which removed the requirement for Treaties signed by the Attorney General for law enforcement purposes to be excluded.  

This follows an Assembly decision in 2023 to introduce such a law. 

Read more: bit.ly/4ja8qC1 

Amendment read more: bit.ly/46Ns69N  

The States Assembly voted to APPROVE the Chief Ministers proposition, as amended, with 45 votes for, 0 votes against and 0 abstentions. 

You can see how Members voted here. 

Skip to 22 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full. 

P.12 Amendments to Standing Orders – Miscellaneous amendments 

The Privileges and Procedures Committee is proposing amendments to Standing Orders to allow for the inclusion of Senators.  

The proposition asks to add Senators to the roll call; identify how they should be addressed within Assembly proceedings; and to allow newly elected Senators to sign nomination forms for candidates seeking to be Chief Minister. 

It also seeks to remove the rule that allows for any time not used during the first two periods of Questions Without Notice to be rolled over to the third period with the Chief Minister. 

Read more: bit.ly/4rOjUy9 
 

The States Assembly voted in parts: 

Part A. The order in which Members are called during roll call.  

The States Assembly voted to APPROVE Part A with 28 votes for, 12 votes against and 1 abstention.  

You can see how Members voted here. 

Part B. Each of the three ‘question without notice’ periods should be a maximum of 15 minutes.  

The States Assembly voted to APPROVE Part B with 25 votes for, 16 votes against and 1 abstention. 

You can see how Members voted here. 

Skip to 54 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full. 

P.19 Capping the Number of High-Net-Worth Individuals granted Entitled Status via Regulation 2(1)(E) 

Deputy Jonathan Renouf proposed to limit the number of High Value Residents granted entitled residential status to 15 per year, or 75 in any 5-year rolling period. If approved, the changes would be introduced by the end of March 2026. 

Read more: bit.ly/4rQYWyJ 

The States Assembly voted to REJECT the Deputy’s proposition with 7 votes for, 34 votes against and 1 abstention. 

You can see how Members voted here. 

Skip to 1 hour and 23 minutes into this afternoon’s recording to watch the debate in full. 

Adjournment  

The States Assembly then adjourned and will reconvene at 2.30pm on Monday 9th March (please note the Monday start due to the volume of propositions to be debated).