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An attempt to use an ancient Norman rite to stop a road being narrowed has been denied.
St Peter Port douzenier and resident Rosie Henderson raised the Clameur de Haro yesterday by kneeling and uttering the words “Haro, Haro, Haro. A l’aide, mon prince, on me fait tort” – which means “come to my aid, my prince, for someone does me wrong.”
It was raised over the narrowing of the road opposite the new multi-million pounds flats being built on the former Guernsey Brewery site. Narrowing this stretch of road would “endanger pedestrians and motorists”, she claimed. However, after attempting to register it in the court yesterday, the judge denied the application.
"Judge Finch heard all the arguments, but the Clameur was not registered and failed because I am not the owner of the land. There are five criteria for a Clameur to be raised, and the judge found that I met all but one, that I am not the owner of the land.'
According to the ancient rite, the person must be the owner of the land for at least a year and a day in order to invoke. Mrs Henderson says, however, that because the States are the ultimate owner of the land in the island, and because she is a resident, there were grounds to raise it. The only other recourse now to take, Mrs Henderson said, was to go to the Royal Court to have the builders lease revoked. Mrs Henderson said she wouldn't resort to this without other people.
Using the 1,000 year old rule had provoked quite the storm with the Douzaine.
"I have come in for some really heavy criticism, as some people feel I have brought the Douzaine into disrepute. I feel that my motives were for the good of the people."
National media, including the Guardian and Telegraph, ran the story yesterday.
This extraordinary legal power is not available anywhere else outside of the Channel Islands, and can be viewed as the ability of an individual to force a legal restraint on someone who they believe they are being wronged by.
The law dates back to the 10th Century as a form of self-policing, as no law enforcement existed.
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