First Official Visit to Jersey by a Master of the Rolls

Tuesday 26 May 2015

As part of law firm Hanson Renouf’s tenth anniversary celebrations, a seminar was held last Friday, 15th May, entitled “Access to Justice”.

The event was marked by the attendance of Lord and Lady Dyson who formally opened the premises by unveiling a plaque. Lord Dyson is the Master of the Rolls and the second most senior Judge in England and Wales.

He enjoyed two years sitting in the Supreme Court before becoming Master of the Rolls where he could enjoy greater influence over developing the law. 

Advocate Timothy Hanson, Senior Partner, chaired the seminar. He said: “We were honoured to have had the presence of such a leading and high profile Judge open our new seminar room – which Lord Dyson seemed pleased to discover was to be named 'The Dyson Suite' – but we were then treated to an impressive 40 minute talk by Lord Dyson on the English experience and the development of procedural rules to encourage access to Justice."

Lord Dyson commented during the course of his speech that this was the first formal occasion that a Master of the Rolls had visited Jersey in that capacity. 

The Master of Jersey’s Royal Court, Advocate Matthew Thompson also spoke and he gave an illuminating speech on key aspects of Jersey procedural law which the audience found extremely relevant, particularly the large number of local lawyers that had attended. 

Advocate Hanson praised the Master of the Royal Court for his drive and enthusiasm for modernising Jersey’s procedural law and said that the Master was respected by the legal profession for his efforts in this regard. 

Delegates attending the conference included Senator Paul Routier who chairs one of the committees looking into access to Justice reforms, as well as other political figures and civil servants who have expressed an interest in this area.   The CEO of the Law Society also attended.

Advocate Hanson said: "The event had been a great success, and a real coup for Jersey, and we were further able to showcase in the evening the Liberation International Music Festival to Lord and Lady Dyson.  They expressed appreciation for the high quality musical performances at the Opera House and subsequently enjoyed a trip to the war tunnels and cliff path walks during their stay in Jersey."