Health and Safety Appeal Tribunal: re-appointment of Chair and Deputy Chair
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STATES OF JERSEY
HEALTH AND SAFETY APPEAL TRIBUNAL: RE-APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR AND DEPUTY CHAIR
Lodged au Greffe on 9th October 2025 by the Minister for Social Security
Earliest date for debate: 11th November 2025
STATES GREFFE
2025 P.75
PROPOSITION
THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion −
in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work (Appeal Tribunal) (Jersey) Regulations, 1989 , to re-appoint for a period of 3 years, the following persons as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Health and Safety at Work (Appeal Tribunal) to determine appeals against Prohibition and Improvement Notices, served by Health and Safety Inspectors, and decisions by the Minister on licensing provisions under the Law, commencing immediately –
Advocate Cyril Whelan – Chair
Advocate Niall MacDonald – Deputy Chair
MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY
REPORT
The Minister for Social Security decided to recommend to the States Assembly the re- appointment of Advocate Cyril Whelan as Chair and Advocate Niall MacDonald as Deputy Chair of the Health and Safety Appeal Tribunal.
Article 17 of the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law, 1989, allows for the establishment of an appeal tribunal to determine appeals against administrative sanctions, Prohibition and Improvement Notices, served by Health and Safety Inspectors, and decisions by the Minister on licensing provisions under the Law.
The Health and Safety at Work (Appeal Tribunal) (Jersey) Regulations, 1989, set out the arrangements for the Tribunal, including the appointment of members for a three year period of office.Regulation 2(2) provides for the Tribunal to consist of 4 members: a chairman and deputy chairman who both must be advocates or solicitors of the Royal Court of at least 7 years standing, and two other members.
Advocate Cyril Whelan was appointed as Chair on the 22nd September 2022 for a term of 3 years, which expired on 22nd September 2025. Advocate Niall MacDonald was appointed as Deputy Chair on the 22nd September 2022 for a term of three years, which expired on 22nd September 2025. Both candidates wish to be re-appointed for a further three-year term.
The Regulations require for the Chairman and Deputy Chairman to be appointed by the States.
Candidate synopsis:
Advocate Cyril Whelan - Chair
Called to the English bar in 1979 and to the Jersey bar in 1982, Advocate Whelan spent 28 years as senior legal adviser in the Law Officers’ chambers in Jersey. He was appointed to the office of Crown Advocate immediately upon the creation of that office in 1987.
As head of the Department within the Attorney General’s chambers responsible for Serious Crime and International Mutual Legal Assistance, Advocate Whelan has advised on all aspects of public law, and has acted as prosecuting counsel in serious crimes such as murder, rape, serious and complex fraud and money laundering.
He has been a Senior Consultant at Baker and Partners law firm since 2007. As well as Senior Counsel for Baker & Partners, Advocate Whelan is also Chairman of Baker Regulatory Services Limited.
Advocate Whelan has acted as Jersey’s Attorney General from time to time and has also acted on behalf of successive Attorneys General in the implementation of major regulatory and mutual assistance legislation in Jersey. He has been involved in high profile investigative and litigation work relating to asset recovery on behalf of governments worldwide.
He is one of Jersey’s four MONEYVAL assessors, trained to assess the AML/ CFT defences of countries across a wide international front. MONEYVAL is the Committee
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P.75/2025
of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism, an independent monitoring mechanism within the Council of Europe answerable directly to the Committee of Ministers.
In June 2020 Advocate Whelan completed the ten year maximum tenure as a Commissioner of the Jersey Financial Services Commission. He continues to sit as a Deputy Chair of the Employment and Discrimination Tribunal. He continues to chair the Jersey Gambling Commission and to chair the Appeals Panel in respect of the fitness of medical professionals under the relevant legislation. He sits from time to time as one of Jersey’s Coroners.
Advocate Niall MacDonald – Deputy Chair
Advocate MacDonald is partner at Appleby and head of their Dispute Resolution department in Jersey. Before relocating to Jersey in 2008, he qualified in 2006 as a Solicitor in Scotland by training with a commercial law firm in Edinburgh with whom he worked for two years afterwards as a litigator. After working for law firms in Jersey for six years he qualified as a Jersey Advocate in 2014 and since then has gained has extensive advocacy experience before the different forums in the Island. The cases which he has been involved have also included a broad range of areas of the law (including company, contract, construction, criminal, employment, insolvency, judicial review, personal injury and professional negligence); and in 2015 he was awarded the Junior Lawyer of the Year by the Law Society of Jersey with its President noting that Niall stands out having “represented clients in a wide range of litigation issues … achieving consistently good results.” Such experience will assist him to adapt to the requirements of the Health and Safety Appeal Tribunal.
Financial and staffing implications
There are no additional financial or staffing implications for Government as a result of this proposition.
Children’s Rights Impact Assessment
A Children’s Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) screener has been prepared in relation to this proposition and is available to read on the States Assembly website.