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Proposals have been brought forward to ensure that Constables who are ordered to resign by the Court do not stay in post until a successor has been appointed, following a high-profile case in which the Constable of St. John was convicted of dangerous driving before being deemed “not fit for office”.
The Royal Court ordered Chris Taylor to resign on 15 March 2021 but he was able to remain in post until Andy Jehan, who was elected unopposed, took his oath before the Royal Court.
Taylor was found to have repeatedly driven into the legs of a cycle race marshal at slow speed in June 2019 following a Magistrate’s Court trial last year, for which he was fined £4,000 and given a driving ban.
It also emerged that he had used more than £7,400 in parish money to pay for his legal fees to fight the case - funds which he later repaid.
In a judgment handed down by Commissioner Sir William Bailhache, sitting with Jurats Blampied, Ramsden and Ronge, Taylor was directed to resign because his “level of criminality” was deemed inconsistent with his oath to keep the “Queen’s peace”.
Following the judgment, the Comité des Connétables has now brought an amendment to the law governing the function.
It comes after they concluded it wasn’t appropriate for a Constable who has been required to resign by the Court to remain in office and that their resignation should take immediate effect instead.
If the Constable appeals the Court’s decision, they will leave their office once the appeal has either been dismissed or abandoned.
In addition, the Comité is proposing to change the provisions for the resignation of a Connétable in any other circumstance.
The Comité considers that when a Connétable gives written notice to the Bailiff of his or her wish to retire, for example on health grounds, it should take effect once the Royal Court has received notification of it, at which point it will also order an election to fill the position.
In both cases, a Constable would not be deprived of earned income.
Meanwhile, a Procureur du Bien Public would be able to fulfil the functions of the Constable until the outcome of the election as currently planned under the law.
The Comité, chaired by the Constable of St. Lawrence, Deidre Mezbourian, said: “These provisions ensure the Parish continues to function notwithstanding there being a vacancy in the office of Connétable and pending an election to fill that office.”
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