AMONG a crowd of several hundred gathered to herald the appointment of the Island’s new Deputy Bailiff, one participant’s welcome was particularly heartfelt.
“At last, I’ve got one!” exclaimed the new appointee’s boss, as the Bailiff, Robert MacRae, was able to mark the end of a period in sole charge of the Bailiff’s Chambers as his new deputy, Mark Temple, took the oath of office in front of a packed Royal Court.
There were chuckles around the court as Mr MacRae said that almost three months after his own swearing-in, his new right-hand man would need to hit the ground running.
“You’ll be pleased to hear that anything that’s come in during that time that’s been too difficult for me to handle has been placed carefully on your desk, where it awaits you tomorrow morning,” he said.
Mr Temple, who had previously served as Attorney General for five years, was also warned about the challenges awaiting him at a forthcoming training course at Warwick University, where the “razor-sharp High Court judges” running the session would delight in putting their students on the spot during a mock trial to check their familiarity with “obscure procedural and ethical points”.
Both the Bailiff and his deputy are Royal appointments, with the ceremony starting with the reading of “letters patent” from King Charles III, watched by the monarch’s representative on the Island, the Lieutenant-Governor, Vice-Admiral Jerry Kyd.
Three of the four most senior officers of Guernsey’s Royal Court were also present, including Sarnian Deputy Bailiff Jessica Roland, who was a fellow partner at Mourant Ozanne with Mr Temple when the two lawyers worked in private practise.
Watched by family members including his mother Julie, wife Sylvia, children Alex and Claudia and brother Gavin, Mr Temple spoke about the warm welcome he had received on moving to the Island with his family in 2003.
He also recalled the unusual circumstances of being sworn in as Attorney General on 9 March 2020, the day before Jersey’s first positive case of Covid-19, with his role being “turned upside down” as the Island had striven to adjust to the challenges of the pandemic.
Attendees heard that in contrast to the offices of Bailiff and Attorney General, both of which can be traced back more than 700 years, the role of Deputy Bailiff had only been created in 1958. This made the position younger than Donny Osmond, Solicitor General Matthew Jowitt pointed out with a light-hearted dig about the “Johnny-come-lately” role.
Mr Temple said he was looking forward to working alongside Mr MacRae, highlighting the pair’s shared enthusiasm for sea swimming.
“It’s probably more ‘bobbing about’ than swimming, especially at this time of year, but if we can bob about in cold water together then I’m sure we can do the same as Bailiff and Deputy Bailiff,” he said.
