The Channel Islands’ legal history books have been rewritten in the space of 24 hours after Guernsey appointed its first female Bailiff and Jersey swore in only its second female Solicitor General.
History made in Guernsey
Ms Roland will be the first woman to hold the role since it was created in 1278.
At that time, the Bailli – the early Norman name for the position – was the person who held the island for the Duke of Normandy through the Sénéchale de Normandie, upholding Norman law.
The modern-day position has evolved but is still very much focussed on the rule of law, with the Bailiff acting as a fully functioning Chief Justice and Parliamentary Speaker rolled into one.
The Bailiff’s office also acts as the official channel of communication between the States of Guernsey and the UK Government.
And in the line of Jersey succession…
And, yesterday, Victoria Bell was formally sworn in as the island’s second-ever female Solicitor General before a packed Royal Court full of family, friends, colleagues, States Members and officials.
A Jersey College for Girls alumna, Miss Bell studied English at the University of Exeter before converting to law.
She was admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales in 2009, the year she joined the Law Officer’s Department as an Assistant Legal Adviser, and as an advocate of the Royal Court in 2016. She was appointed a Senior Legal Adviser in 2024.
Advocate Bell has worked at the Law Officers’ Department for the past 16 years and was chosen from what the court heard was a strong field of candidates.
Stéphanie Nicolle was the last woman to be appointed HM Solicitor General in 1994, but stepped down from the role – and public service – in 2008, going on to become Adjunct Professor of Immovable Property at Jersey’s Institute of Law, before retiring in 2012.
Who is Guernsey’s new Bailiff?
Ms Roland was born in Guernsey in 1969, becoming the island’s Deputy Bailiff in 2020 after a career as an advocate and law firm partner.
In fact, she’s the first woman to hold either role in the Channel Islands – with Jersey having appointed only men since the role of Bailiff was created there in 1201.
Ms Roland was educated at Forest Primary School and the Grammar School for Girls, before leaving the island to study at Sussex University, The College of Law in York, and the Université de Caen.
She was admitted as a solicitor in 1997 before returning to Guernsey, qualifying as an advocate in July 1999.
She rose to the rank of Managing Partner at a law firm in Guernsey, before taking on the Deputy Bailiff role in 2020.
