Foundations (Guernsey) Law 2011 Consultation

When the States of Guernsey approved a States Report prepared by the Commerce and Employment Department regarding a review of Trust Law in Guernsey it included proposals for the introduction of foundations. The introduction of foundations legislation would provide additional choice and flexibility for the fiduciary sector, and its clients, whilst allowing Guernsey to continue to meet international standards through high standards of transparency and compliance.

The States resolved, in principle, that foundations should be introduced and directed the Commerce and Employment Department to provide a further States report on the detail of how a Guernsey foundation would operate in addition to preparing the relevant legislation. Working with the Law Officers Chambers the Department has prepared draft legislation for consultation. The Department intends to finalise the legislation and provide a further States Report for presentation later this year.

This consultation document is arranged as follows:

1. Part One – What are foundations? This section provides some general comments on how foundations operate. Consultees are asked to provide some general feedback to the Department on the potential markets for Guernsey Foundations?

2. Part Two – Major Policy Questions. This section includes a discussion on a number of key issues which have been identified while the legislation has been drafted on which the Department would like specific feedback in order to resolve some key policy questions for the legislation.

3. Part Three –The Layout of the Law. This section contains a broad discussion on the layout of the draft legislation and provides further background on the legislation. Feedback from this section will assist in finalising the States Report.

4. Part Four – Further Reading. This section list a number of further sources that consultees may find useful background reading. It also provides links to the legislation in other jurisdictions which may provide useful comparison.

5. Part Five – Summary.

6. Appendix 1 - contains a consolidated list of all consultation questions.

7. Appendix 2 – contains the draft Foundations (Guernsey) Law.