A GROUND-BREAKING case that could have widespread implications for the island’s parochial system was opened in the Petty Debts Court yesterday.

Van owner Steve Ogier is actioning Castel constable Barry Paint (pictured) for £750, plus costs.

For Deputy Paint, Advocate Mark Dunster said previous actions against people who were carrying out their duties as parish officials had always been made against the constables and douzaines as the parish bodies.

Advocate Dunster, St Peter’s junior constable, said constables were the executive arm of the douzaines, elected by parishioners and working voluntarily.

‘If the argument is right that people acting in an official [parish] capacity can be sued, then the whole system of public administration is under grave threat,’ he said.

‘Who would want to serve in these roles? It could lead to a multitude of insurance policies having to be taken out.’

Damage had been caused to Mr Ogier’s Ford Transit van in September last year when Deputy Paint was overseeing work with a tractor to move it from the car park next to Checker’s Express, at Rue de Saline, Cobo. Assistant Magistrate Cherry McMillen said the biggest issues often arose from the smallest cases.

‘The most complex legal points, from my experience, come out of Petty Debts and your statement raises an extremely important issue,’ she told Advocate Dunster.

But she wanted to know if there was any basis in law for the advocate’s argument.

‘Where does it say that a public official can’t be sued for an action they take in that role?’ she said.

Advocate Dunster said there was no specific immunity for officials, but that logic had to be considered.

Miss McMillen said it did not stop Deputy Paint from taking his own action against the people who told him to do the job – the douzaine.

The court heard that the Castel constables had written to Mr Ogier and offered him £200 for the van, which he would have to sign over to them for disposal. The offer was declined.

The constables maintain that the van, which was full of wood and tyres, was a fire hazard. Several parishioners had complained about vehicles being left in that car park and someone, unknown, had threatened to ‘torch’ them. The van was close to a hedge and neighbouring properties

‘We were caught between a rock and a hard place,’ said Deputy Paint.

‘What would have happened if we’d done nothing and that person had carried out that threat the next day?’

Much of the evidence was not disputed. The court heard how the car park was subject to a long running dispute over ownership and that the police had been involved after an altercation between Mr Ogier and Deputy Paint when the van was being moved. Mr Ogier had been arrested briefly until Deputy Paint, on police advice, withdrew a complaint he had made for assault after Mr Ogier had pushed him.

Miss McMillen said the issue with the police was not something for the Petty Debts Court and the ownership matter was not relevant at that stage of the proceedings.

She said she hoped to make her decision within the next 28 days.