Select a region
A mechanical hedge-cutter was, quite literally, stopped in its tracks when a Trinity parishioner invoked a 1,000-year-old procedure that halted work immediately.
Just after 08:00 on Thursday, organic regenerative farmer Nikki de Gruchy raised the Clameur de Haro in Rue Becq, in front of a tractor which had been contracted by the parish to carry out the branchage down the lane.
In order to raise it, Ms de Gruchy got down on one knee in front of two witnesses as well as Viscount’s Officers, raised one hand and called out: “Haro! Haro! Haro! À l’aide, mon Prince, on me fait tort.” – “Hear me! Hear me! Hear me! Come to my aid, my Prince, for someone does me wrong”. She then recited the Lord’s Prayer, also in French.
The origins of the Clameur de Haro are unclear but ‘Haro’ could be a contraction of ‘Ha! Rou!’ so refer to a direct appeal to the Norman king Rollo, the Viking founder of the Norman dynasty in 911, who was renowned for his strict integrity and justice.
The ancient legal procedure can be invoked by any individual who believes they have been wronged in law, and involves them getting down on one knee and making a plea to the Duke of Normandy in French.
The Clameur is recognised in both Jersey and Guernsey law, providing it is correctly raised. In practical terms, it is an immediate injunction which bypasses the normal process of having to go to the Royal Court first, giving the instigator, known as the ‘criant’, a self-help remedy.
Although a quirk of Channel Island law, it is still considered an important and relevant tool available to all islanders who have a land dispute with another party, and has been recognised and praised by senior UK judges.
Ms de Gruchy, who owns land on both sides of Rue Becq, which runs between Rue des Ifs and Rue de la Godillerie, not far from Lyndale Sports, is in dispute with the parish over where her land ends and the byroad begins.
Pictured: Rue Becq runs just west of Route de la Trinité. (Google Maps).
She argues that the parish were not entitled to cut back the branches because the road had been illegally widened over the years and now encroached on her land.
Therefore, the trees hanging over the road were legitimately hers and the parish had no right to carry out the branchage there.
The parish, however, argues that the Constable has the statutory duty under the 1914 Loi sur La Voirie to ensure that a height of at least 12 feet is kept above all parish roads. This is what he had contracted the operator to do in Rue Becq.
The parish also maintains that it has legitimate ownership of the byroad because it has been sealed for more than 40 years, which is the period after which you can claim ‘prescriptive title’ if you have possessed it without challenge or interruption.
However, Ms de Gruchy argues that the road should only be 7 feet 4 inches wide by law, using Imperial measurement, with the extra width beyond that – created, she says, due to erosion of the banks primarily caused by traffic and the parish - being an encroachment on her land.
She says she has already carried out the necessary pruning on either side of 7 feet 4 inch gap, and the overhanging branches on her land kept at least 12 feet above the road.
On Thursday afternoon, Ms de Gruchy’s Clameur was subject to a directions hearing before the Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq.
For Trinity, Advocate Christopher Scholefield argued that the injunction “could be stopped dead in its tracks” because the Clameur had been incorrectly raised.
He said that it should have been directed at the person who had directly committed the alleged wrong – the driver – and not the parish, which had instigated the work.
Paperwork submitted by Ms de Gruchy and her legal representative, Advocate Hiren Mistry, only referred to the parish, he argued.
The Bailiff adjourned the case for Ms de Gruchy, who is also being advised by Advocate Richard Falle, to prepare a defence to this argument.
A full hearing and site visit will be held on 22 November.
The last attempt at a Clameur de Haro was in February 2021. However, the Royal Court judged that it had been incorrectly raised. It was the first time that the medieval ritual had been performed in two decades.
It was also raised in Guernsey earlier this year.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.