Jon Torode has retired after 14 years serving the Crown as His Majesty’s Greffier, a role which included other key responsibilities such as Clerk of the Royal and Magistrate’s Courts, Registrar of the Guernsey Court of Appeal, and Clerk and Registrar of the States of Deliberation and States of Election.
Additionally, Mr Torode has been the Registrar-General of births, deaths, and marriages meaning he has had an involvement in the most important aspects of peoples’ lives during his career.
His working career started at the States Insurance Authority before he became an officer at Customs and Immigration. He then worked as the Senior Sea Fisheries Officer before being sworn in as Greffier in August 2011, after being appointed by Royal Warrant.
Mr Torode served Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for the bulk of his time in the post, but on the accession of King Charles III to the throne in 2022, his title automatically changed to ‘His Majesty’s Greffier’ with his vital duties continuing.
Those duties included participating in numerous civic functions, most recently as Clerk of the Court during the visit of King Charles in 2024.
Mr Torode ended his working career as His Majesty’s Greffier yesterday with a spokesperson saying that “throughout his tenure, Jon has made significant contributions to the legal and civic landscape of Guernsey”.
Mr Torode’s most notable achievements are said to have included:
• Assisting with the introduction of a new marriage law in 2020
• Document duty legislation in 2017
• The provision of Lasting Powers of Attorney in 2022
• Digitalisation projects such as the Guernsey Legal Resources website
• Serving as the senior responsible owner for the ongoing Smart Court digital programme
• Arranging for the restoration and storage the Royal Charters that have been granted to the Bailiwick of Guernsey
• Facilitating the introducing of the States Greffier position in 2020 as clerk of the States of Deliberation
“I have really enjoyed all the various positions that I have previously held during my time working for the States of Guernsey,” said Mr Torode.
“It has been an honour to have served in my current role as HM Greffier. I have been greatly assisted by a dedicated group of professional people that work in the different areas of the Royal Court. It has been a privilege to have worked with so many interesting and knowledgeable people over the years.
“The digitalisation of the Court systems is going well but there is still a lot of work to be done, this will be one of the major challenges for my successor. The process to appoint a new His Majesty’s Greffier is currently underway.”