Jurat retires after serving for five years

Mike Liston, who was appointed as a Jurat on 23 January 2012, applied to the Privy Council for permission to retire, which has now been granted. Proceedings to replace him are due to start in the new year.

The news comes three months after it was revealed in a Royal Court judgment that Jurat Liston secretly recorded a phone conversation with his neighbour during a dispute over a fruit tree garden.

The court heard that Jurat Liston and his wife thought the land, which they had gardened for 25 years, was theirs when it was, in fact, owned by their neighbour.

After the dispute began, Jurat Liston recorded a conversation about the matter with the neighbour on his smartphone without her knowledge.

Members of the Guernsey judiciary, who sat on the case, said that he had also used ‘persuasion and veiled threats’ to achieve his objective of ownership of the land.

They suggested that he made the secret recording to try to obtain proof that the neighbour was prepared to sell the land to him. The court ultimately found in favour of his neighbour. The Bailiff’s Chambers declined to say whether Mr Liston’s decision to retire was related to the court case.

In a statement, they said: ‘The Bailiff, Deputy Bailiff and all Jurat Liston’s colleagues are sad that this has come about and would like to thank him for his service to this Island in this capacity since 2012. We wish him well for the future.’

It adds: ‘The Bailiff’s view is that Jurat Liston’s decision demonstrates the integrity for which he is well known in Jersey.’

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