The Visite is an ages-old Jersey legal custom whereby the Bailiff leads a delegation of Jurats, lawyers and officials to two parishes in August to inspect the accounts and make decisions on outstanding legal and administrative problems – including encroachments on roads and pathways.
- Each parish receives a Visite Royale every six years, and in addition to the Bailiff, Jurats and Royal Court officials, this ages-old legal custom requires the complete parish administration to attend, including all the road inspectors who are sworn by the court.
- The route the Visite fleet of vehicles takes is carefully selected to take in the matters to be heard and to show the parish at its best. And the vehicles must abide by the cardinal rule of not retracing the route otherwise the Visite is immediately terminated.
- When a measurement is required to assist the court in its deliberations, vertical measurements are taken by the Viscount with a special stick, while an arpenteur (the Royal Courts official measurer) uses a measuring tape to ascertain distances along the ground.
On this occasion, one of the encroachments in question was a substantial section of hedge, planted in 1938 by Carlyle Le Gallais, which stretches down Les Varines from the junction with Croix Besnard.
Despite the Island’s most recently qualified Advocate, James Angus, fulfilling the traditional role of arguing against the parish, which wanted the hedge trimmed, the court ordered the current landowner, Mr Le Gallais’s grandson, Andrew Le Gallais, to cut the hedge.
However, fears were expressed that a substantial pruning ran the risk of killing the holly trees.
In announcing the court’s decision, the Bailiff, William Bailhache, said: ‘This is a clear encroachment on the public highway and a potential danger to traffic and road safety, and for that reason the hedge must be cut back perpendicular to the boundary and also to a height of 12 feet.’
The court first convened in the parish hall where it received reports from Constable Sadie Le Sueur-Rennard, roads inspectors and the honorary police.
The officials then went off to consider the road and pathway issues, which also included inspecting two lanes – Rue du Vielle Ménage and Rue du Pont – which are subject to flooding in heavy rain.
Again the landowner in question was Mr Le Gallais, and much discussion ensued around customary law relating to the passage of water between land and who should take responsibility for flooding, but Mr Bailhache said the court did not have enough facts to make a decision either way.
The Visite also stopped in Bagatelle Road to consider the future of a large ash tree – not owned by Mr Le Gallais – which was sitting on a boundary between two houses and protruding into the pavement.
After a short deliberation the Royal Court decided it should not be cut down.
The next visit will take place in St John on 19 August.
