How has Jersey’s Companies Law been Enhanced?

The Companies (Jersey) Law, 1991, the principal legislation governing Jersey companies, has recently been updated by two amending Laws, enhancing Jersey’s competitiveness further still.

The first Amendment Law came into force on Monday 1 June 2026 and introduced over 80 amendments designed to ensure Jersey’s company law remains modern, user friendly, flexible and effective.

The changes affect all Jersey companies, including public and listed ones.

Important changes include:

• The removal of companies with over 30 members being deemed public
• The introduction of a regime for companies to correct certain errors without going to Court
• The removal of the requirement to state authorised share capital in the company’s memorandum of association
• More flexibility over share transfer and share certificate requirements
• The introduction of merger relief
• The removal of the dual audit requirement for Jersey companies listed on certain securities exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange

The second Amendment Law came into force on Friday 19 June 2026.  This introduces an administration procedure to allow either the rescue of a financially distressed but viable business as a going concern, or the achievement of a higher asset realisation than would occur in a winding up procedure.

Under this procedure, Jersey’s Royal Court can appoint an administrator and grant a moratorium on creditor action, if satisfied that one of these aims would be achieved. The applicant needs to show the Royal Court that the company is insolvent or likely to become insolvent.

This is a new regime in Jersey and is intended to provide more flexibility, improve outcomes for companies, members and creditors, and support business continuity.

For more information, contact Sally Edwards, Legal and Technical Manager at Jersey Finance.