On the hearing of that appeal the Attorney General of the Isle of Man conceded that the Court had jurisdiction to review by way of Petition of Doleance his decision in relation to the pre-conditions to the exercise of his statutory powers under the Isle of Man legislation but not in relation to the actual exercise of those powers. Such legislation is similar to the Guernsey Investigation Law of 1991.

The Court of Appeal of the Isle of Man did not, however, accept this limited concession and expressed itself as follows:-

"In our view however not only are the pre-conditions subject to review, but so also is the discretion exercised thereafter. In our view that discretion is subject to the normal "Wednesbury Rules". The Attorney General must exercise his discretion in good faith; he must take into account all relevant considerations and must not take into account irrelevant ones. He must act fairly and reasonably. Provided he does so the Court will not interfere and a Petition of Doleance will not lie".

"Political considerations - e.g. the nature of the regime seeking assistance, the penalties for breach of the relevant law, the nature of the laws, will all be relevant considerations, and in respect of these matters the Attorney General will be answerable to Tynwald; only in exceptional circumstances would the Courts interfere".

In an earlier passage the court underlined the distinction between an appeal and the exercise of a supervisory jurisdiction.

We shall return to these passages when we consider the availability and extent of any remedy in Guernsey and the position of H.M. Procureur in this island.