Law of Guernsey by the Court of Alderney at a special sitting on Saturday 28 January 2017. King John, who reigned from 1199 to 1216, lost the English-controlled territories in Normandy in France following the 1204 Siege of Château Gaillard, the remaining Norman lands being the Channel Islands. King John promised the islands independence and the right to continue governing themselves after they confirmed their allegiance to the English Crown. Agents of the Crown called bailiffs would enforce the laws and run the courts, one in Jersey and one in Guernsey; the areas under the authority of these bailiffs were called bailiwicks. In
Law of Guernsey the sale and purchase of real estate in Guernsey were written in French until 1971. Alderney enjoys full autonomy in law (except in matters of foreign affairs and defence, as the other Channel Islands); however, in 1948 Alderney adopted a new constitution which created a fully elected government and changed the courts. Under the terms of an agreement (known as "the 1948 Agreement") entered into between the Government of Alderney and the Government of Guernsey, certain matters were delegated to Guernsey. These are known as "the transferred services" which include policing, customs and excise, airport operations, health, education and social