Jurat (through legal
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
from
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
juratum, "sworn", from
jurare, "to swear") is the name given to the clause at the foot of an
affidavitAn affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the author, who is called the affiant or deponent, and witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner of oaths. The name is Medieval Latin for he has declared upon...
showing when, where, and before whom the actual oath was sworn or affirmation was made.
In addition, the word can refer to the sworn holders of certain offices.
In English and American law, the word jurat is applied to that part of an
affidavitAn affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the author, who is called the affiant or deponent, and witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner of oaths. The name is Medieval Latin for he has declared upon...
which contains the names of the parties swearing the affidavit, the actual statement that an oath or affirmation has been made, the person before whom it was sworn, the date, place and other necessary particulars.
Jurat (through legal
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
from
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
juratum, "sworn", from
jurare, "to swear") is the name given to the clause at the foot of an
affidavitAn affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the author, who is called the affiant or deponent, and witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner of oaths. The name is Medieval Latin for he has declared upon...
showing when, where, and before whom the actual oath was sworn or affirmation was made.
In addition, the word can refer to the sworn holders of certain offices.
English and American law
In English and American law, the word jurat is applied to that part of an
affidavitAn affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the author, who is called the affiant or deponent, and witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner of oaths. The name is Medieval Latin for he has declared upon...
which contains the names of the parties swearing the affidavit, the actual statement that an oath or affirmation has been made, the person before whom it was sworn, the date, place and other necessary particulars. The jurat is usually located on the bottom of a document. A typical form would be
Sworn to before me this DD day of Month, 20__, with the
signature of the witness, often a
notary publicA notary public is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business...
, the venue, and sometimes other particulars. Old forms of jurats ran as
Juratum...die...coram..., which then gave in English
Sworn this...day of...before me.
Additionally, this term can be used for certain electronic forms, (such as electronically filed tax returns in certain states), where the taxpayer(s) attest to the truth of the information contained. In the case of an electronically filed tax return, the taxpayer has to provide certain specific information - his social security number for example - to "sign" the jurat. Having done this, the electronically submitted return is considered to have the same legal effect as if the taxpayer had actually and physically signed the return.
Channel Islands
Under the
ancien régimeAncien Régime refers primarily to the aristocratic, social, and political system established in France under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties...
in
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, in several towns, of the south-west, such as
La RochelleLa Rochelle is a city in south-western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department....
and
Bordeauxis a port city on the Garonne River in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department...
, the jurats were members of the municipal body. The title was also borne by officials, corresponding to
aldermenAn alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions. Historically the term could also refer to local municipal judges in small legal proceedings...
, in the
Cinque PortsThe Confederation of Cinque Ports is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex, at the eastern end of the English Channel where the crossing to the continent is narrowest...
, but is now chiefly used as a title of office in the
Channel IslandsThe Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
.
There are two bodies, consisting each of twelve jurats, for the
BailiwickA bailiwick is the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff. The term was also applied to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal imperial writ...
s of
JerseyThe Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes the nearly uninhabited islands of the Minquiers, Écréhous, the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs. Together with the bailiwick of Guernsey...
and of
GuernseyThe Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown Dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.As well as the island of Guernsey itself, it also includes Alderney, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou, Burhou, Lihou, Sark and other islets. Although the defence of all these islands is the...
respectively. They form, with the
BailiffA bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...
as presiding judge, the
Royal CourtRoyal court, as distinguished from a court of law, may refer to:*Court , the household and entourage of a monarch or other ruler, the princely court*Royal Court Theatre, in London, England...
in each Bailiwick. In Guernsey and Jersey, the Jurats, as lay people, are judges of fact rather than law, though they preside over land conveyances and liquor licencing. In Alderney, however, the Jurats are judges of both fact, and law (assisted by their learned Clerk) in both civil and criminal matters.
Until the constitutional reforms introduced in the 1940s to separate legislature and judiciary, they were elected for life, in Jersey by islandwide suffrage, in Guernsey by the States of Election, and were a constituent part of the legislative bodies.
Although no longer a political post, the office of Jurat is still considered the highest elected position to which a citizen can aspire.
However, in Alderney, Jurats are appointed by the Crown, following a recommendation from the President of Alderney.
Jersey
In Jersey, the power to raise excise duties was exercised by the Assembly of Governor, Bailiff and Jurats. These financial powers, along with the assets of the Assembly, were finally taken over by the
States of JerseyThe States of Jersey is the parliament of Jersey. Until December 2005 it also directly exercised executive powers, which have now been removed to the new Chief Minister of Jersey and his cabinet, elected by the States.-Composition:...
in 1921, thereby enabling the States to control the budget independently of the
Lieutenant Governor of JerseyThe Lieutenant Governor of Jersey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown. The role of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as the de facto head of state in Jersey. The Lieutenant Governor also liaises between the Governments of...
. In 1948 the jurats were replaced in the legislature by directly-elected senators. Jurats now serve as non-professional judges until retirement (at 72) and are indirectly elected by
electoral collegeAn electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
constituted of States Members and members of the legal profession. The Royal Court sits either as the Inferior Number (judge and two jurats) or the Superior Number (judge and at least five jurats). Only the Superior Number can impose sentences of imprisonment of more than four years. The Superior Number also acts as a court of first appeal from the Inferior Number. Appeals from the Superior Number are heard by the Court of Appeal in which jurats do not sit.
The robes of jurats are red with black trim.
At public elections, Jurats customarily serve as
autorisésIn various parliamentary systems, a Returning Officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
to oversee polling and declare results.
List of Jurats of the Royal Court of Jersey
In order of seniority:
- Jurat John de Veulle OBE, Lieutenant Bailiff
- Jurat Sally Le Brocq, Lieutenant Bailiff
- Jurat John Tibbo
- Jurat Roy Bullen MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business and Engineering* Mean Biased Error...
- Jurat John Le Breton
- Jurat Geoffrey Allo
- Jurat Jill Clapham
- Jurat Lorna King MBE
- Jurat Stan Le Cornu
- Jurat Peter Morgan
- Jurat Mary Newcombe
- Jurat John Liddiard
Guernsey
In Guernsey, the Jurats are still elected by the States of Election, made up of the Island's judiciary, Law Officers and Anglican clergy.
The Royal Court of Guernsey sits either as the Ordinary Court (Bailiff or Deputy Bailiff and two jurats) or the Full Court (Bailiff or Deputy Bailiff and seven jurats).
The robes of jurats are purple (although the precise shade has varied).
Alderney
The court of Alderney consists of six Jurats (appointed by the Crown) and a Chairman.