[MR] FW: in the news (Reuters)... so much for "perpetuity"

[C. Brian Towey]

Avril Ormsby
April 12, 2008

THE West's last feudal system has come to an end after Britain's Privy
Council endorsed a vote on the tiny Channel Island of Sark to change the way
it is governed.

Sark, a car-free island about 10 kilometres east of Guernsey, off the coast
of Normandy, has broadly held onto its political and judicial systems since
Elizabeth I bestowed them on it nearly 450 years ago. The island has been
governed by a mainly unelected parliament called the Chief Pleas,
traditionally made up of members of landed families. It meets just a few
times a year.

The seigneur, effectively the lord of Sark, or head landlord, appoints the
judiciary and has until recently been entitled to a cut from any property
bought and sold on the island, and even to the ancient system of tithe
levies.  In return, he must maintain an army to keep the island "free of the
Queen's enemies".  

But locals and modernisers want a fully elected 28-member chamber, and the
600 residents opted for the change in a poll at the end of 2006.  That
decision has now been endorsed by the Privy Council, the body of senior
government ministers in London.  Every person who has lived on the island
for more than a year is now entitled to take part in elections.  The first
will be in December, with the parliament sitting for the first time the
following January.

Sark is not part of Britain, nor is it a sovereign state.  It has its own
legislature, judicial system and administration, but London is responsible
for its defence, foreign affairs and law and order.  The changes will also
see the introduction of a legal expert who will take part in any complicated
or sensitive case.

The island's seneschal, or judge, Lieutenant-Colonel Reg Guille, said the
changes to the judiciary and government would modernise both. But he said
island life would go on as normal.  "It's a very quiet and peaceful place:
we are a self-sufficient, close-knit community and we like to get on with
life away from the public eye," he said.

ISLAND'S PROFILE
*Sark is the smallest of the four main Channel Islands.
*The Romans are believed to have been on the island, which they called
Sargia, for two centuries, and it was occupied by German forces during World
War II.
*Elizabeth I made the island a noble fief in 1565, to be held in perpetuity
by the first seigneur, or head landlord.
*He was able to collect tithes and land sale and buy commissions.
*In return, he was obliged by contract to maintain an army of 40 men to
defend the island against the "Queen's enemies".
*He is the only person allowed to keep pigeons.
*The only motorised vehicles allowed are tractors and disabled vehicles.
 Other transport is by coach and horse or bicycle.
*There are no tarmac roads, just dirt tracks.
*Access is mainly by boat, as there are no airstrips.
*There is no dentist on the island.  Islanders must go to Guernsey for any
dental work.
*Nobody can build a new house unless he or she has been resident for at
least 15 years.
*There is no mains water or mains drainage.
SOURCE: REUTERS




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