In so far as there is jurisdiction in the Royal Court to interfere, we find that the position of the Respondent as HM Procureur, and in effect the Attorney General of the Bailiwick, is not of itself a bar to the institution of these proceedings.

The jurisdiction of the Ordinary Court and of the Cour des Jugements et Records

Certain important legislation of an administrative character in Guernsey provides expressly for appeals, sometimes with limited jurisdiction, to the Royal Court and to the Court of Appeal. An outstanding example is the Housing (control of occupation) (Guernsey) Law 1994 which by s.56(1) provides for a limited right of appeal to the Royal Court.

A formal equivalent to judicial review or system of administrative law has been slow to evolve in Guernsey and in this respect it has lagged behind both Jersey and the Isle of Man. This may in part have originated in the fact that until 1948 the Royal Court exercised both judicial and legislative powers in the island, and that the obtaining of the ordinary remedies by way of injunction or declaration of which there is now no report were not identified as being of the character of administrative remedies.

The development of the law in Jersey was finally established by the Court of Appeal in Lesquende Ltd -v- The Planning and Environment committee of the states of Jersey (unreported, 5th January 1998. Hon. Michael Beloff Q.C in giving the judgment of the court held that such a remedy exists in Jersey. There was a body of precedent in Jersey running from 1974 to which reference was made. The development of judicial review in the Isle of Man through the means of Doleance has already been noted; see Re the Attorney General Of the Isle of Man (above).