Minister proposes move to allow retrials at court

Jersey's justice minister has put forward plans to allow a single retrial after a lengthy hearing ended with a hung jury.

Deputy Mary Le Hegarat said the aim of her proposals were to make "straightforward improvements" and bring Jersey "back in line" with normal practice across other jurisdictions.

Her calls follow the L'Ecume II trial, which led to jurors being unable to reach verdicts on charges against Condor ferry crew members Lewis Carr and Artur Sevash-Zade at Jersey's Royal Court.

The proposals are due to be debated at the end of March.

Carr and Sevash-Zade were accused of three charges of gross negligence manslaughter after Condor's Commodore Goodwill collided with trawler L'Ecume II in December 2022, killing Michael Michieli, Larry Simyunn and Jervis Baligat.

Jurors could not reach a verdict on the charges against Carr, 30, but found him guilty of a breach of Jersey's shipping law.

Carr was jailed for one year and eight months in December.

Mr Sevash-Zade, 35, was found not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter and the jury could not reach a verdict on the shipping law charge.

Le Hegarat said she wanted to ensure serious cases could be resolved properly "while still protecting defendants' rights".

"We saw recently how a hung jury can leave victims, families, and the public without any clear answer," Le Hegarat said.

"A hung jury is not a verdict."

Le Hegarat said the changes would help tidy up "outdated wording" and give magistrates clearer case management powers.

She added they would also fix minor technical issues and modernise how jury lists and very long trials are handled.

"These changes are about keeping the system efficient and avoiding unnecessary delays," Le Hegarat said.

Other proposals aim to speed up court processes, including reducing the number of Jurats needed for some hearings.

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