I see no reason…

Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot…

Guy Fawkes was presumably monumentally annoyed with Parliament, choosing to try to take matters into his own hands.

With the Supreme Court in England & Wales clarifying last month the circumstances of public authority liability in respect of the police’s duty of care in negligence cases in Tindall v Thames Valley Police (23/10/2024) and the States of Guernsey finally, recently,  ensuring that police officers can be represented by the Law Officers of the Crown if they are sued, it seems the odds are stacked against a disaffected Guy of the 21st century.

However, Guernsey has embraced judicial review as a tool to challenge decisions of the Government, and it has been used to challenge everything from planning decisions (Groucutt, where I appeared for the States) to decisions affecting children with complex or additional need. Judicial review is even said to be available in the regulatory and anti-money laundering spheres, even though the Court cast some doubt on this as far back as 2012 (and questions must be cast as to the efficacy of that route over the usual so-called Liang type private actions).

In addition to challenge by JR, Guernsey also has the very odd spectre of the Administrative Review Board. As anachronistic in many ways as gunpowder in the tunnels by the Thames, the ARB allows a disaffected punter to challenge an administrative decision of the government (whether civil service or political board) without the need for recourse to court.  In addition to the ARB, various ombudsmen now have real powers to award monetary awards.

So if you, like the poem, can see no reasoning behind a decision made by the States, perhaps, before deciding to light up the sky, take stock and consider your options. There are ways to challenge decisions of the public authorities in Guernsey that ought not to end in an effigy being burnt in your honour every year and, while we may from time to time feel that a big old bonfire could be the answer to States paralysis, it is possible to seek redress through less drastic measures.

If you need further information or legal advice, please contact our dedicated dispute resolution team: Robin Gist, Charlotte Tomlinson and Jana Valkovska, A. NALP, who will be delighted to assist.