In a packed electoral college session, ex-chief officer for Home Affairs Steven Austin-Vautier and a former chief financial officer of Modern Hotels Group, Kim Averty, were chosen after several rounds of voting.
The new Jurats will fill the seats of departing Jurats Paul Nicolle and Geoffrey Grime.
Mr Austin-Vautier was a wing commander in the RAF before returning to Jersey with his family in 1993. He was the Magistrate’s Court Greffier for many years, during which time he led work on the establishment of the new modern court complex.
The father-of-two was proposed by advocate Steven Meiklejohn and Senator Lyndon Farnham.
Advocate Meiklejohn said Mr Austin-Vautier was known for his ‘calm authority and easy demeanour’ and the lower court ran like ‘clockwork’ under his tenure as Greffier.
The 66-year-old was the clear leader of the five candidates vying for the roles in the first two ballots but proposed Jurats must secure a majority of the votes in order to be appointed.
The Bailiff, Jurats, the Constables of the 12 parishes, elected States Members, members of the Jersey Bar and solicitors of the Royal Court are eligible to vote for the role of Jurat and 99 electoral college members took part in the selection process.
While Mr Austin-Vautier had 41 of the 99 votes cast in the first two ballots, that failed to pass the 50% mark.
Ex-politician and police officer Michel Le Troquer and Kim Averty split the majority of the remaining votes between them, while former engineer David Andrew Robinson and businesswoman Mary O’Keeffe were dropped from the ballots after earning the fewest votes in the first two rounds.
Mr Austin-Vautier then won the seat being vacated by Jurat Nicolle, with 56 votes to Mr Le Troquer’s 23 and Mrs Averty’s 20.
Voting for the seat vacated by Jurat Grime was completed in one ballot, however, with Mrs Averty taking 57 of the 99 votes.
The 59-year-old mother-of-one’s proposers noted her important experience with the Mental Health Review Tribunal in putting her forward for the role.
First proposer Advocate Nuno Santos-Costa said Mrs Averty had been asked on many occasions to put her name forward and finally felt the time was right.
He said her financial background would leave her ‘unfazed’ by the most complex financial trials and her five years on the Mental Health Review Tribunal meant she would bring her valuable understanding to the judicial process.
Jersey’s Jurats uphold an ancient tradition established in the early 13th century when the Constitutions of King John ordered that the Island elect their 12 ‘best sworn men’ to keep the pleas.
They serve until the age of 72 and hear both criminal and civil cases, deciding on matters of fact and the length of sentences for offenders, as well as awarding damages and fines.
Over the past three years, each Jurat has sat in court an average of 56 days per year. They also act as returning officers during Island elections. The role is entirely voluntary.
Mr Austin-Vautier and Mrs Averty are due to be sworn in on 4 March in the Royal Court.
