Jersey’s new £250,000 courtroom complex has opened its doors for the first time, with one of the biggest criminal trials in the Island’s history set to be its inaugural case.
Jurors were selected in the Royal Court today for the trial arising from the Haut du Mont explosion, with the prosecution due to open the case tomorrow and expected to last around two months.
Proceedings are being held in the newly created Royal Court Room 4 at Jubilee Wharf, 24 The Esplanade, rather than the historic court building in Royal Square.
The new courtroom has been specifically designed for jury trials and can accommodate up to 16 jurors – 12 sitting jurors and four reserves for lengthy cases – alongside four defence counsel and the Crown.
A second new courtroom can be used for family, children and civil cases.
“The Court refurbishment has cost £250,000 in round figures,” Bailiff’s Chambers Chief Officer Steven Cartwright MBE confirmed to Express. “There is an annual rental of £224,000 per annum.”
He added that all of the furniture had been “recycled from previous public-service offices”.
The expansion comes after an independent review of Jersey’s criminal justice system by Eleanor Laws KC called for urgent work to increase court capacity and provide facilities suitable for modern criminal trials.
However, the Bailiff’s Chambers has acknowledged that the Jubilee Wharf courts are not a permanent solution, saying bespoke facilities would require “considerable capital investment”.
Seventeen different departments and agencies collaborated to prepare the facilities for use.
The Bailiff, Robert MacRae, said the new courtroom spaces would “significantly increase both the capacity and flexibility of the Royal Courts” and paid tribute to the “great deal of work has been done by a great many people to enable us to be able to provide these new facilities”.
“The new courtrooms will help us to manage our busy schedule and accommodate many cases already listed and to be listed in the future, while providing modern and appropriate facilities for jurors, those involved in proceedings and members of the public.”
