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Business<br />
CLAMOUR<br />
AND CUSTOM:<br />
GUERNSEY’S UNIQUE<br />
LEGAL SYSTEM<br />
‘Haro! Haro! Haro! A l’aide, mon Prince, on me fait tort!’<br />
Those unfamiliar with Guernsey<br />
law might guess that this<br />
exclamation was shouted by<br />
continental paparazzi at the recent<br />
royal wedding. In fact, they are<br />
words forming part of an ancient<br />
and honourable custom of Guernsey<br />
law: the Clameur de Haro.<br />
The Clameur is a centuries-old<br />
way for the people of Guernsey to<br />
protect their rights and property.<br />
Anyone can use it to stop those<br />
whom they believe act unjustly or<br />
without authority. The aggrieved<br />
person faces the wrong-doer on<br />
bended knee in front of witnesses.<br />
The Clameurer then cries out in<br />
Norman French with arms raised<br />
and hands clasped: “Haro! Haro!<br />
Haro! Help me, my Prince, I am<br />
being wronged!” This is followed<br />
by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and a<br />
grace in Norman French. (The exact<br />
wording of the Clameur varies in<br />
Guernsey, Alderney and Sark). On<br />
hearing these words, the target of<br />
the Clameur must stop what he<br />
or she is doing. The Clameurer<br />
and witnesses then have 24 hours<br />
to appear before the Bailiff, who<br />
decides whether the dispute should<br />
proceed to the Royal Court.<br />
The Clameur de Haro has been<br />
rarely used recently, having fallen<br />
into disuse apart from the occasional<br />
property disputes. In 2010, the<br />
Bailiff refused a Clameur made<br />
by the recipients of an eviction<br />
notice because the sender had<br />
done no wrong. In 2016, the<br />
Bailiff accepted that a Clameur<br />
to stop planners from towing a<br />
vehicle could proceed to court.<br />
Despite its rarity, the Clameur<br />
remains a powerful legal tool. It<br />
has an effect similar to a temporary<br />
injunction, which can be invoked<br />
Chris Dye<br />
Senior Associate<br />
at Babbé LLP<br />
c.dye@babbelegal.com<br />
Tel: +44 1481 746181<br />
at any time without a judge’s prior<br />
approval. For this reason, and<br />
because of the religious and royal<br />
invocations, it is considered a serious<br />
and solemn recourse. Those who<br />
abuse or ignore it can be punished.<br />
Raising Clameur has become a<br />
celebrated part of Guernsey culture.<br />
It is sometimes used as a local<br />
expression to threaten menacing<br />
consequences such as: ‘Quiet down,<br />
children, or I’ll raise Clameur’<br />
While the Clameur de Haro is<br />
rare and dramatic, other points of<br />
Norman law are a routine part of<br />
legal practice in the Bailiwick. In<br />
centuries past, Norman custom was<br />
the everyday law of the Channel<br />
Islands and the French region<br />
of Normandy. When Napoleon<br />
created his Civil Code for the whole<br />
of France, he forbade the use of<br />
customary law in French Normandy.<br />
This left Guernsey and Jersey to<br />
develop Norman law on their own.<br />
As the British Empire became<br />
a dominant force in the world<br />
economy, <strong>En</strong>glish law gradually<br />
became more and more important<br />
in Guernsey. Many concepts of<br />
Katherine Hitchins<br />
Partner and Head of Corporate<br />
at Babbé LLP<br />
k.hitchins@babbelegal.com<br />
Tel: +44 1481 746192<br />
<strong>En</strong>glish law were adopted in<br />
Guernsey to ease business and<br />
trade. However, many other<br />
rules of <strong>En</strong>glish law, such as the<br />
convoluted, medieval rules of<br />
<strong>En</strong>glish property ownership, were<br />
never adopted in Guernsey<br />
Today, Guernsey is one of<br />
only a handful of territories in<br />
the world where both common<br />
law and local customary law<br />
apply. Those who simply assume<br />
that <strong>En</strong>glish and Guernsey law<br />
are identical sometimes get an<br />
unpleasant surprise. Guernsey<br />
advocates study and practise both<br />
common law and Norman custom,<br />
helping clients to navigate both<br />
legal systems on a daily basis.<br />
While it is not always easy for<br />
outsiders to understand, Guernsey’s<br />
legal system is suited to our<br />
Bailiwick. Guernsey has adopted<br />
useful concepts from both <strong>En</strong>glish<br />
and Norman law, often resulting<br />
in simpler and fairer legal rules<br />
for those who live and invest<br />
here. It is a unique institution of<br />
which we can all be proud.<br />
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