THE grounds on which a defendant can take a case to Guernsey’s Court of Appeal need to be widened, according to a leading advocate.

The lawyer, who did not want to be named, said the limited criteria for taking a case to appeal was outdated and a concern for the Guernsey Bar.

‘When our Court of Appeal legislation was drafted and implemented it was drafted having regard to the relevant grounds of appeal in criminal cases in England at that time, i.e. the early ’60s.

‘These were based on some English statute that is now over 100 years old. That was amended in England by statute in 1968 and yet we still have those pre-1968 grounds.’

He said the fact the rules had not been updated was unacceptable and ‘almost Dickensian’.

• Read the full story in the Guernsey Press. Click here for subscription details. Individual editions are now available online.