Jersey Government 2008

Country name:
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Jersey
conventional short form: Jersey

Dependency status:
British crown dependency

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
name: Saint Helier
geographic coordinates: 49 11 N, 2 06 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:
none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 12 parishes including Grouville, Saint Brelade, Saint Clement, Saint Helier, Saint John, Saint Lawrence, Saint Martin, Saint Mary, Saint Quen, Saint Peter, Saint Saviour, and Trinity

Independence:
none (British crown dependency)

National holiday:
Liberation Day, 9 May (1945)

Constitution:
unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice

Legal system:
the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Lieutenant Governor Andrew RIDGEWAY (since 14 June 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Frank WALKER (since December 2005); Bailiff Philip Martin BAILHACHE (since February 1995)
cabinet: Cabinet (since December 2005)
elections: ministers of the Cabinet including the chief minister are elected by the Assembly of States; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor and bailiff appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch:
unicameral Assembly of the States of Jersey (58 seats; 55 are voting members, of which 12 are senators elected for six-year terms, 12 are constables or heads of parishes elected for three-year terms, 29 are deputies elected for three-year terms, the bailiff and the deputy bailiff, and 3 non-voting members includes the Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General, and the Solicitor General appointed by the monarch)
elections: last held 19 October 2005 for senators and 23 November 2005 for deputies (next to be held in 2008)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 55

Judicial branch:
Royal Court (judges elected by an electoral college and the bailiff)

Political parties and leaders:
two declared parties: Centre Party; Jersey Democratic Alliance
note: all senators and deputies elected in 2005 were independents

Political pressure groups and leaders:
none

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (British crown dependency)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (British crown dependency)