PRESS RELEASE 8 August
2007
Consultation paper on amendments to Regulatory Laws
The Commission has today published a consultation paper containing
draft legislation that would make a number of amendments to
the four Regulatory Laws that the Commission administers.
The consultation paper follows on from a position paper issued
by the Commission in June which set out the policy proposals
which form the basis for the majority of the legislative changes
referred to in the consultation paper.
The consultation paper covers proposed legislative changes
in the following areas:
• Giving the Commission an express power to prevent
individuals from working in the prudentially supervised finance
sector
• Extending the “principal person” regime
to “key persons” such as compliance officers and
money laundering reporting officers
• The public disclosure by registered persons and by
the Commission of licence conditions
• The public disclosure by the Commission of the identity
of senior management and investment employees of regulated
investment businesses
• Amendments to the “fit and proper” criteria
for businesses and individuals
• Additional provisions for appeals against administrative
decisions
• Changes to the statutory gateways that permit the
Commission to release confidential information to third parties
• Amendments to ensure the Commission’s powers
are consistent across the four Regulatory Laws
• Various other miscellaneous amendments
The amendments to the Regulatory Laws are being proposed
in preparation for the forthcoming assessment by the International
Monetary Fund (“IMF”) of the Island’s regulatory
framework.
Jersey, along with the other Crown Dependencies of Guernsey
and the Isle of Man, was last assessed by the IMF in 2002/2003
and the resultant report published in October 2003. It is
currently expected that the Crown Dependencies will be re-assessed
in the second quarter of 2008.
In the assessment, the Island’s regulatory framework
will be assessed against the relevant international regulatory
standards. The assessment will consider legislation, Codes
of Practice, policy statements and guidance notes, the practical
implementation of the framework by the Commission (and other
relevant agencies) – including resources that are available,
and input provided by industry.
A number of elements of the legislative process to implement
the proposed amendments to the Regulatory Laws are outside
of the Commission’s control. These include the need
for a Ministerial Decision, States debate and approval of
the amendments by the Privy Council. Nevertheless, to place
itself in the position of being able to demonstrate practical
application of the updated regulatory framework in time for
the IMF visit, the amendments to the Regulatory Laws need
to be finalised and submitted to the Minister for Economic
Development by mid-September 2007.
For this reason, comments on the consultation paper are sought
as soon as possible but by 3 September 2007 at the latest.
The consultation paper can be viewed on the Commission’s
website by clicking
here and paper copies obtained from the Commission’s
reception area or the Jersey Library.
- Ends -
For further information please contact: -
Andrew Le Brun
Director, International & Policy
Jersey Financial Services Commission
Tel: + 44 (0) 1534 822065
Fax: + 44 (0) 1534 822001
Email: a.lebrun@jerseyfsc.org
Notes to Editors.
1. “Regulatory Laws” is a collective term used
to describe the following laws:
• Banking Business Law (Jersey) Law 1991
• Collective Investment Funds (Jersey) Law 1988
• Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998
• Insurance Business Law (Jersey) Law 1996
|
