Petty Debts Limit Increases

The Civil Court system in Guernsey has been reformed by the new Magistrate's Court (Guernsey) Law, 2008 which has widened the jurisdiction of the Petty Debts Court.  In accordance with the new Law, the maximum limit for Petty Debt claims has been increased from 2,500.00 to 10,000.00.

In addition to extending the financial limit of the Court's jurisdiction, the Law gives the Petty Debts Court the ability to award the same remedies that are available to the Royal Court, such as injunctions.

Until now, one of the fundamental differences between the divisions of the civil courts has been that legal expenses were not recoverable in the Petty Debts Court. The Law does not amend this but does make a provision for the Royal Court to enact rules to govern costs that can be recovered in the Petty Debts Court.  No rules have yet been issued by the Royal Court and so legal costs incurred in the Petty Debts Court are still not recoverable at the time of writing.

The Petty Debts Court's procedure is simpler and quicker than the Royal Court.  Cases before the Petty Debts Court are likely to be dealt within weeks as opposed to months.  Therefore, the costs incurred by the parties will be substantially less than if the action were commenced in the Royal Court.

The Petty Debts Court may refer matters to the Royal Court that it considers are matters of general importance or in the interests of justice.  However, if a matter is incorrectly commenced in the Royal Court and it is subsequently found that the correct forum would have been the Petty Debts Court, the issuing party may be subject to cost penalties.

In summary, most actions of a value of less than 10,000.00 must be commenced in the Petty Debts Court.  While legal costs are not recoverable at the time of writing, they should now remain proportionate to the amount claimed and the matter is likely to be resolved in a matter of weeks as opposed to months or even years.