What is a Procureur du Bien Public?
Each Parish has two Procureurs du Bien Public, elected for a 3-year term by the voters of the whole Parish at a public election (basically in the same way as Connétables, Centeniers, Senators and Deputies). Translated literally into English, the title means "attorney of the public good" or perhaps "attorney of the common wealth", and the position has from time immemorial had the responsibility of looking after the financial and legal affairs of Parishioners. At its simplest this means keeping an eye on spending and income and acting on behalf of the Parish in legal transactions. However a Procureur du Bien Public may be called upon to serve as acting Connétable.
The origins of the office are lost in the mists of time. The guiding principle of the actions of Procureur du Bien Public is not contained strictly speaking within a law but rather in the oath of office (as prescribed by the 1771 Code des Lois):
VOUS jurez et promettez par la foi et serment que vous devez à Dieu, que vous exercerez la charge de Procureur du bien public de la Paroisse de.........................................................; que vous le conserverez et augmenterez comme le votre, et mieux s’il vous est possible; que vous vous réglerez par le bon conseil et avis des Principaux et Officiers, et des Chefs de Famille de ladite Paroisse; et ferez généralement tous autres devoirs qui dépendent de ladite charge.
(Roughly: You swear and promise by the faith and oath that you owe to God, that you will serve as Procureur du Bien Public of the Parish of ..................... ....................................; that you will preserve it [the public good] and increase it as your own, and better if you can; that you act according to the good advice and opinion of the Principals and Officers, and Heads of Family of the said Parish; and will generally do all other duties that flow from the responsibility).
The Procureurs may propose spending, budgetary, and monetary propositions to the Parish Assembly, and if the Assembly decides to enter into a contract of sale, purchase or lease of property it will authorise at least one of the Procureurs to pass contract with the Connétable. One of the duties of a Procureur is therefore to appear in the Royal Court and swear to a contract.
The Connétable may ask advice (and usually should) of the Procureurs with regard to legal proceedings, negotiations and other matters affecting the public good. The Procureurs' duty is to give the best advice possible and, as the oath of office implies, to put the Parish's interests above their own. This may mean standing up against the Connétable, or at least strongly dissuading them from a course of action and being prepared to publicly oppose them, if they believe that the interests of the Parish require it. So although if things run smoothly, the Procureurs may act as sort of assistant Connétables to help the Connétable in the administration of the Parish, the ultimate loyalty is to the wider community.
Since 2012, a Procureur du Bien Public (usually the senior of the two) exercises the functions of acting Connétable in the Parish in case of the death, resignation or disqualification of the Connétable until an election can be held, or in case of temporary incapacity until the Connétable is able to take up post again.
If the Connétable is out of the Island for more than 7 days, then a Procureur discharges the functions of the office. If however the Connétable is out of the Island for 7 days or less then the Connétable may continue to discharge her/his functions in absentia provided they've informed at least one of the Procureurs of their intention to do so.
The Procureurs du Bien Public are members of the Burials Board (setting burial fees), are part of the Rectorat (looking after the ecclesiastical property of the Parish), the Accounts Committee (studying the accounts) and, given the lack of a council set up for that purpose in Saint Helier, it has long been the convention that the Procureurs du Bien Public attend Roads Committee (without a vote on statutory and highways matters, although some legal & financial matters may require the agreement of both the Roads Committee per se and the Procureurs) together with the Connétable (himself ex-officio president of the Roads Committee) using their powers in concert as a de facto council.
If the Connétable is not available to preside, then a Procureur presides over: Roads Committee meetings (and if so, has a vote); Parish Assemblies; Visites du Branchage; other meetings as required.
A Procureur may also stand in for the Connétable on ceremonial occasions such as swearings-in, wreath layings, vins d'honneur and other civic receptions and events, and may generally fulfil such informal functions as might be expected in municipalities elsewhere of a deputy mayor or maire-adjoint or similar. As civic figures, Procureurs du Bien Public of Saint Helier may wear the traditional chains of office (modest compared to the Connétable's impressive and historic chain of office).
In principle, therefore, there is a line of succession at the head of the Parish with the Connétable running parochial affairs day-to-day supported by the Procureurs du Bien Public; and, failing that, the senior Procureur takes over, with the junior Procureur being third in line.
The office of Procureur du Bien Public is an honorary position (no payment is made for time spent, although travel expenses etc may be covered).
Various documentation:
Report re CONNÉTABLES (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) (JERSEY) LAW 201-
The legislative changes – deputizing for the Connétable
3.1
The draft Law also seeks to implement the last recommendation of the 1998 Resolution, namely, that the senior Procureur du Bien Public of the Parish be empowered by law to deputise for the Connétable in the event of the latter’s incapacity or absence from Jersey.
3.2
This is a long-awaited provision which it has not been possible to enact whilst active policing powers have remained (technically) vested in the Connétable. Since 1998, the law relating to elections for Procureurs du Bien Public has been changed so as to require a public election – as opposed to an election merely by the Parish Assembly – to be held if the position is contested.
3.3
Article 5 of the Projet de Loi goes slightly further than the 1998 Resolution in certain respects:
3.3.1
Article 5 duly provides for the senior Procureur to deputise for the Connétable in the latter’s incapacity (inability to discharge the functions of office) or absence from Jersey; but it also provides for such deputisation whilst there is a vacancy in the office of Connétable.
3.3.2
There is also a provision in Article 5 which gives a measure of flexibility in cases of a Connétable’s absence from the Island for only a short period. If the absence is for 7 days or less, the Connétable may effectively elect to continue to discharge the functions of office.
3.3.3
Furthermore, Article 5 contains a provision enabling the ‘junior’ of the Procureurs to deputise for the Connétable instead of the senior, quite simply with the consent of the Attorney General.
3.3.4
In any event, there may be certain matters (such as a conflict of interest) that prevent the senior of the Procureurs from discharging one or more of the functions of the Connétable; if that is the case, the junior Procureur must discharge the relevant function(s) instead.
3.3.5
The Connétable is responsible for appointing and, if need be, dismissing, the Chef de Police . The draft Law would require the Procureur , if deputising for the Connétable –
(a) to consult with the Attorney General before appoint ing a Chef de Police ; and
(b) to obtain the consent of the Attorney General befor e dismissing the Chef de Police
3.4
An inability to discharge the functions of office means an inability for any reason, be it illness, injury or otherwise.
3.5 Seniority as between the Procureurs is to be determined –
(a) by their respective seniority in office; or if that seniority cannot be distinguished;
(b) by their respective periods of continuous service in the relevant parish; or if seniority in office and period of service cannot be distinguished, then (c) by their respective seniority in age.
3.6
It is important to note that the Procureur, in deputizing for the Connétable, will not assume any of the functions of, or connected with, attending the States, or acting as a member of the Supervisory Committee or the Comité des Connétables
Report of the Working Party on Parish Assemblies [R.C.38/2001]
In this context, the Working Party has, however, considered the nature and responsibilities of the office of Procureur du Bien Public
Of that office the Royal Court said
“We conceive that the Procureur du Bien Public is not strictly a trustee, but is the procurator or proxy of the Parish, and that his principal duty is to represent the Parish in looking after the property of the Parish. The Procureur has a duty to report to the Principals and Officers of the Parish any matter concerning the public property of the Parish, or the application of the income of the Parish, about which the principals and officers should be made aware.”
The Procureur has the right to seek the guidance of the Royal Court. He thus carries a heavy responsibility and must of course be strictly impartial and objective in overseeing the affairs of the Parish and the use of its funds. He or she must enjoy the utmost confidence of the electors of the Parish. The Working Party believes that the mandate of the Procureur should be seen to be the widest possible of the electorate within the Parish, which will best be achieved by an electoral process in which as many Parishioners as possible are likely to cast their vote. For that reason, the Working Party recommends that elections for the office of Procureur du Bien Public should be governed by the Public Elections Law rather than (as at present) be held at a Parish Assembly.
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