Overview

The Royal Court has recently handed down a judgment which has reiterated the willingness of the Jersey Court to plough its own furrow and decline to follow English authority when satisfied it is inappropriate to do so. The decision relates to the equitable jurisdiction of the Court to set aside a transaction on the grounds of mistake. It is of particular interest not only in that specific context but also in relation to the ongoing debate as to whether the Jersey Court will follow the approach of the English Court of Appeal in the recent judgment of Pitt and Futter in relation to Hastings-Bass. In Re the S Trust, whilst saying it has no sympathy for tax evasion, the Jersey Court stated that it could "see no reason for adopting a judicial policy in [Jersey] which favours the position of the tax authority to the prejudice of the individual citizen, and excludes from the ambit of discretionary equitable relief mistakes giving rise to unforeseen fiscal liabilities".