Draft Public Records (Jersey) Amendment Law 202- (P.95/2025): comments
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STATES OF JERSEY
DRAFT PUBLIC RECORDS (JERSEY) AMENDMENT LAW 202- (P.95/2025): COMMENTS
Presented to the States on 15th January 2026
by the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel
STATES GREFFE
2025 P.95 Com.
COMMENTS
The Draft Public Records (Jersey) Amendment Law 202- [P.95/2025] (hereafter referred to as "draft Law") was lodged au Greffe on 28th October 2025 by the Minster for Sustainable Economic Development (hereafter referred to as "the Minister") and is scheduled for debate at the States' sitting commencing on 20th January 2026.
The Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel (hereafter referred to as "the Panel") initially received a briefing outlining the proposed draft Law on 28th March 2024 and was informed by the Minister that it was being finalised in February 2025.1 A final version of the draft Law and Codes of Practice were subsequently forwarded to the Panel on 23rd July, with a further briefing received on 2nd December.
The Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 (the "original Law") provides the legal framework for the management, preservation, and accessibility of public records in Jersey.2 Since the original Law came into force, the Records Advisory Panel (RAP), consisting of 5 members appointed by the Minister, has been discharging one of its key functions to keep the draft Law under review. The Panel was informed that the current proposed changes originate from correspondence sent to the Minister by the Chair of the RAP in 2019 following a review of the law undertaken by that body.
In essence, the amendments aim to more clearly define all relevant bodies subject to its provisions. Furthermore, a Code of Practice will be created, which will define the duty of records management more clearly.3 The amendments aim to provide guidance to ensure that public records are appropriately managed, with archival public records, including born digital files being transferred to Jersey Archive for permanent preservation.
The Panel was informed during a briefing that the amendments, although not constituting a major overhaul of the draft Law, highlighted significant areas where changes are needed to ensure the law remained fit for purpose.
A schedule of institutions' will be introduced to clarify which bodies are subject to the draft Law, particularly addressing areas where there had previously been uncertainty about applicability.
Conclusion
The Panel welcomes the updates that the draft Law proposes and recognises the importance of updating the Law to improve efficiency and clarity. In this regard, the Panel is supportive of the draft Law as proposed.
1 Letter – MSED legislative programme - 27 February 2025
2 Draft Public Records (Jersey) Amendment Law 202-
3 Letter-MSED-to-EIA-re-Public-Records-Law-8-August-2025.pdf
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P.95/2025 Com.