Draft Children and Civil Status (Consequential Amendments) (Jersey) Amendment No. 2 Regulations 202- (P.55/2025): comments

STATES OF JERSEY

DRAFT CHILDREN AND CIVIL STATUS (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) (JERSEY) AMENDMENT NO. 2 REGULATIONS 202- (P.55/2025): COMMENTS

Presented to the States on 3rd September 2025

by the Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel

STATES GREFFE

2025  P.55 Com.

COMMENTS

The Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel (the Panel') received a briefing from the Minister for Children and Families and Government Officers about the Draft Children and Civil Status (Consequential Amendments) (Jersey) Amendment No. 2 Regulations 202- (the draft Regulations') on 30th July 2025.

Background

The draft Regulations form part of a "package" that is linked to the Draft Children and Civil Status (Amendments) (Jersey) Law 202- (P.104/2023) (the 2024 Law'), on which the Panel published a report (S.R.2/2024).

The 2024 Law was followed by:

• the Draft Children and Civil Status (Consequential Amendments) (Jersey) Amendment Regulations 202- (P.89/2024), which the Panel scrutinised and published comments on in early 2025; and

• The  Draft  Civil  Status  (Abolition  of  Legitimacy  Etc.)  (Jersey)  Law  202- (P.44/2025) (the Abolition of Legitimacy Law'), which the Panel scrutinised and published comments on in July 2025.

This package of legislation is for the purpose of establishing new routes to parenthood, for same-sex parents, parents using fertility treatments and parents using surrogacy to gain legal parent status and parental responsibility. The Panel is supportive of the draft Regulations in principle and will not restate its understanding of the practical changes that this will result in as part of these Comments, as it is covered in the report accompanying the proposition and the Panel's previous Scrutiny report.

What legislation will the consequential amendments change?

The Panel has been advised that the draft Regulations will address technical aspects and minor  amendments  which  were  identified  during  the  process  of  developing  the Abolition of Legitimacy Law, however, it was confirmed that the original policy intent is retained by the changes in the proposition. Overall, the draft Regulations will amend 16 pieces of legislation, and will make the following changes:

• The Marriage and Civil Status (Jersey) Law 2001 will be updated to add new routes for the registration of deceased fathers and second parents on a child's birth certificate;

• The Marriage and Civil Status (Jersey) Law 2001 will be updated to codify the existing customary position for domicile of dependence for children of mixed- sex parents; and

• The references to "parental order" will be updated across the statute book to align with the updated definition in the Children (Jersey) Law 2002.

Queries

During the briefing on 30th July 2025 the Minister and Officers responded to a number of queries from the Panel which have been summarised below.

Codification of domicile  

The proposed codification of domicile was highlighted to the Panel when it was scrutinising the Abolition of Legitimacy Law, as it had been explained that the status of

domicile was traditionally set by the customary law position. Historically, a child's domicile  was  determined  by  the  marital  status  of  their  parents.  However,  the introduction of the Abolition of Legitimacy Law has eliminated legal distinctions based on whether a person's parents are married.

Previously a child born to mixed-sex parents would take the father's domicile if the parents were married, or the mother's domicile if they were unmarried. However, where the parents were in a mixed-sex civil partnership, the child would take the domicile of dependence of their mother, as per the customary law position.

The draft Regulations would change this position, so that children born to mixed-sex parents in a civil partnership gain their father's domicile of dependence. The Panel wanted  to  understand  why  the  decision  had  been  made  to  align  the  domicile  of dependence of couples in a mixed sex civil partnership with married mixed-sex couples, i.e. where the child will take the domicile of the father rather than the mother. It was explained that this was to align with the Government's policy position that civil partnership and marriage should be treated equally.

The Panel highlighted that whilst this provided equity across mixed-sex legal unions, there was still a difference compared to same-sex unions and queried why the parents could not choose which parent the child's domicile was derived from. It was explained that this would require a reform of the policy relating to domicile and would require separate and extensive consultation. It was explained that this was outside of the scope of the draft Regulations and the Government sought to take a pragmatic approach forward. It was also noted that this would likely impact a small number of families as there were very few mixed-sex civil partnerships.

It was further confirmed that, with regards to changes to domicile, there would be no retrospective effect and that any changes would be forward looking, however, the draft Regulations were largely intended to reflect the current position in customary law.

It was emphasised to the Panel that the codification was important as it created certainty for families.

Overseas Parental Orders

The Panel noted that the changes proposed by the draft Regulations intended to enhance the rights of parents via overseas equivalents of Jersey Parental Orders. The Panel queried how an "equivalent" or "corresponding effect" to a Jersey parental order would be established. It was clarified that the framework is primarily modelled on English law, meaning that families relocating to Jersey from the UK, whose children are registered under a UK parental order, would face no legal obstacles, as the relevant laws are aligned. However, the Panel was advised that if a parental order from a more distant jurisdiction were to arise in the context of inheritance, the family would need to seek legal counsel to assess whether the order is compatible with Jersey law.

Deceased Parents  

It was clarified that the references in the draft Regulations to the registration of deceased parents apply specifically to the scenarios outlined in paragraphs 11-15 of the Schedule A1 of the Children Law 2002. These involve situations where parental consent was provided before conception, for example the use of frozen embryos, and the child is conceived after the parent's death. In contrast, the registration of other deceased parents, such as those who pass away during pregnancy, is governed by separate provisions,

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including the newly introduced Article 55AA of the Marriage and Civil Status (Jersey) Law 2001, which forms part of the Abolition of Legitimacy Law.

The Panel was informed that in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments and the storage of frozen embryos are not available on-Island. As a result, such procedures would be carried  out  in  a  regulated  UK  clinic,  where  consent  is  governed  by  the  Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. It was further explained that the 2024 Law is designed to operate in conjunction with UK legislation to enable the registration of a child's birth in these circumstances.

It was highlighted that the registration of a deceased parent was symbolic and for record purposes and would not confer any rights of succession in order to avoid complications in certain circumstances.

The Panel noted that the law for the registration of deceased fathers had been in place in the United Kingdom for some time and asked if any problems had been identified that Jersey could learn from. It was confirmed that the UK Law had been considered closely and that since it had come into force it had been widened to include registration of deceased same sex female parents and unmarried fathers.

Timescale for commencement

The Panel understands that the draft Regulations will come into force immediately after the Draft Children and Civil Status (Consequential Amendments) (Jersey) Amendment Regulations 2025. These will immediately follow the 2024 Law, which will be brought into force by Ministerial Decision.

The Panel has had sight of the communications plan and has received assurance that the operational and practical changes required are all underway. At the time of the briefing, it was confirmed that: the surrogacy guidance was being finalised; the parental order application forms were nearly finalised; the court rules were being drafted; the forms required by the Superintendent Registrar are ready; and the Assisted Reproduction unit are working on the updated consent forms.

Conclusion

The Panel is supportive of the draft Regulations and of the changes that will result from the amended 2024 Law when this comes into force.