Under existing UK legislation, however, Islanders on the run can be extradited from the UK to Guernsey.
The hole in the legislation is due to be addressed as part of a large review of criminal procedures laws. The review, which is due to take place next year, will address various potential gaps, grey areas and archaic aspects of the law.
The difficulties posed by transferring suspects between the islands was raised during a recent court case in which a man from Guernsey was sentenced to community service after assaulting a man in Jersey.
The court heard last month that the defendant, who had been on holiday in Jersey, returned to Guernsey.
His sentencing came two years after the assault, a delay which the Crown said was due, in large part, to the problems with transferring suspects between the islands.
It emerged that it had taken time for the relevant law to be found to order his transfer from Guernsey to Jersey. The Law Officers’ Department, however, confirmed that the case had helped identify that there was no such law working the other way – to allow the ordering of the transfer of suspects from Jersey to Guernsey.
Addressing the court at the sentencing hearing, Crown Advocate Christopher Baglin said: ‘The Law Officers’ Department advised in December 2015 that there was no clear mechanism to back a warrant to return a suspect from Guernsey under the 1848 indictable offences act.
‘The defendant was contacted by States of Jersey Police in June 2016 and he advised that he would not attend for a voluntary interview in Guernsey, as it was he who had been assaulted.
‘Further advice was sought from the LOD and further research uncovered an 1867 order in council which applies in Guernsey, which would in fact facilitate the return of the defendant to the Island.
‘As a result the defendant was again contacted and agreed to return voluntarily to Jersey for charge in January this year.’
A spokesman for the Law Officers’ Department confirmed that there were issues around the transferring of suspects but said that hopefully next year that would be addressed.
‘There is no difficulty in transferring suspects from Great Britain to Jersey and vice versa, pursuant to the 1848 Indictable Offences Act,’ they said.
‘There is also no difficulty in securing the return of suspects from Guernsey to Jersey under later legislation limited to Guernsey. But there is a gap in respect of returning suspects from Jersey to Guernsey.
‘This was dealt with on an informal basis until the gap in the law was identified. It is anticipated that this will be remedied next year in the new Criminal Procedure Law.’
In 2015 a Jerseyman went on the run from the Guernsey authorities following a drunken disturbance in Sark. An arrest warrant was issued but he failed to turn up in court in Guernsey and the authorities were unable to force his transfer from Jersey.
He was eventually arrested by Guernsey police at Heathrow Airport and charged with an additional offence of breaching bail. He was sentenced to two months and two weeks in jail for the offences.
