Privy Council sets £500 minimum in Guernsey appeal cases 

In a landmark judgment, the Privy Council has ruled that a party can appeal a decision made by the Guernsey Court of Appeal, as long as the value of the claim is at least £500.

The case – A (Appellant) v R (Respondent) (Guernsey) [2018] UKPC 4 – concerned an issue of child maintenance, where the Guernsey Court of Appeal had refused leave to appeal. The refusal came despite the Court of Appeal (Guernsey) Law 1961 (the 1961 Law), which said that leave wasn’t required if the value of the claim matched or exceeded £500.

In two previous cases, the Guernsey Court of Appeal had tried to reform this provision by refusing to grant leave to appeal except in matters which raised an arguable point of law of general public importance.

Now the Privy Council has clarified the situation deciding that the 1961 Law allows for an appeal as of right and that it’s beyond the power of the courts to contradict that legislation.

Unless the law itself is changed, any appellant seeking to appeal a judgment of the Guernsey Court of Appeal essentially need only show their claim has a value of £500 or more.