Jersey consultation on public inquiry law
- Published
People can comment on the plans until 1 December
A consultation has been launched about creating a public inquiry law for Jersey.
For major public investigations, such as the Jersey Care Inquiry, the States Assembly currently has to establish a Committee of Inquiries.
A specific inquiry law will create a "more robust framework" for the set up and delivery of those inquiries, the government said.
People can comment on the plans until 1 December, external.
What is a public inquiry?
The job of a public inquiry is to respond to public concerns about a particular event or set of events.
According to the consultation the new law will seek answers to the same questions as inquiries in the UK:
What happened?
Why did it happen and who is to blame?
What can be done to prevent it happening again?
An inquiry has the power to make people appear as witnesses, and to provide documentation and material evidence.
At the end, the inquiry usually draws up a report and makes recommendations.
Previous high-profile public inquiries have included investigations into the UK's role in the Iraq war, the events of Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland and the phone-hacking scandal.
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