Jersey's Royal Court Rules On The Extent Of Its Powers To Restrict A Party That Withdraws Trust Proceedings From Starting Afresh

Jersey's Royal Court has recently ruled on the extent of its powers to restrict a party that withdraws proceedings from starting afresh in a judgment that considers for the first time the implications of a 2014 English Court of Appeal decision on the public interest in there being finality in litigation.

The procedural history is not relevant to this briefing, save that by Representation dated 31 May 2018, A, one of the primary beneficiaries of two Jersey law trusts, applied to the Court to remove the Trustee as the trustee of the Trusts (the "Removal Proceedings"). The Removal Proceedings were opposed by the other primary beneficiary, B (for whom Ogier act).

Prior to trial of the Removal Proceedings, in April 2019, A applied to the Court to withdraw them but on the basis that she anticipated the possibility of starting proceedings afresh in the near future for the removal of the Trustee of the Trusts. B and the Trustee did...