The () is an ancient legal

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in ...

of restraint employed by a person who believes they are being wronged by another at that moment. It survives as a fully enforceable law to this day in the legal systems of Jersey and

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands, ...

, and is used, albeit infrequently, for matters affecting land.

History

The ' was perhaps most famously used by a landowner named Asselin FitzArthur to object to the burial of William the Conqueror. Asselin maintained that the church in which the king was to be buried had been built on land unlawfully seized from his family.

Procedure

The procedure is performed on one's knees before at least two witnesses, in the presence of the wrong-doer, and in the location of the offence. The ' with his hand in the air must call out — Following this, the ' must recite the Lord's Prayer in French. On hearing this, the alleged wrong-doer must cease his challenged activities until the matter is adjudicated in court. Failure to stop will lead to the imposition of a fine, regardless of which party is in the right. If the ' is found to have called ' without a valid reason, he in turn must pay a penalty. The ' in

requires that a

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...

be said after the Lord's Prayer: Furthermore, the grievance must be put in writing and lodged at the within 24 hours.

Limitations

' can be overruled. For instance, in 1778 the

States of Guernsey The States of Guernsey (french: États de Guernesey), sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Gue ...

decided to erect 15 loophole towers at various points on the coast to impede any French incursion on the island. Although most of the towers were built on the

commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

, or on public land above the

high-water mark A high water mark is a point that represents the maximum rise of a body of water over land. Such a mark is often the result of a flood, but high water marks may reflect an all-time high, an annual high (highest level to which water rose that ...

, three towers were to be built on private land. The States were of the opinion that the project was of such importance that if necessary they would exercise eminent domain, "notwithstanding any or any opposition whatsoever". A ' can also be denied by a court. In 2010, Guernsey's Deputy Bailiff denied a couple's attempt to invoke the ', in a potential eviction action by a bank that had lent the couple money to build a home.

Recent uses

The ' was raised in Guernsey in December 2016 to block the forcible removal of a derelict Kia Sportage from private land. Earlier that same year, a threat to use the ' was issued, in an effort to stop the redevelopment of a garden and war memorial in Guernsey. On 14 August 2018 local resident Rosie Henderson attempted to use the ' to stop the narrowing of the South Esplanade in

Saint Peter Port St. Peter Port (french: Saint-Pierre Port) is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958. St. P ...

, Guernsey, which she said would be a danger to both pedestrians and motorists. The court refused to register her clameur, because she does not own the land in question. In 2021, it was used in Jersey as an attempt to prevent an eviction. The ' was ruled as having been raised incorrectly in court on the grounds that the person raising it had lost legal title to the property and it could not be used to block court officials carrying out a court order.

Notes

References

* * * Holden, Richard
Jersey Law Course: Civil Procedure
(Institute of Law, Jersey, 2011), chapter 23. *

External links

Jersey Citizens Advice BureauCriants, Clamerists and the Clameur de Haro in the Channel Islands
* {{Italic title Jersey law Bailiwick of Guernsey Normandy Judicial remedies