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
Bailiff of Guernsey Bailiff of Guernsey The title Bailiff of Guernsey has been used since at least the 13th century and indicated the leading citizen of Guernsey. The 89th and current Bailiff is Sir Richard Collas. A "Bailli", the early Norman name for Bailiff was the person who held and preserved the territory for the Duke of Normandy via the " Sénéchale de Normandie" and their "Vicomté des Îles", upholding the laws of Normandy. Significant change took place following the loss of Normandy in 1204 with King John appointing resident Wardens to defend the islands. John, as Count of Mortain, having himself been