http://www.globalcomplexity.org/Sark.htm
The Island of Sark: A Kind of Democracy
Barry Cooper
bcooper@orcop.com
It is commonly assumed that a nation governed by individuals, elected by a people all having an equal right to vote, leads to a society that is inherently "better" than a nation where there are no such equal rights. But is this always true? We tend to assume that despotism is the consequence of not having a universal franchise. Which may be true of large nations, but what about small countries? Or communities within large nations? In practice, does the Western top-down view of democracy give everyone what they want?
The aim of these notes is to raise awareness of an example of a decentralised form of governance that seems to give its people what they want. But it is not a democracy of the Western kind.
The Island of Sark is governed by individuals whose right to govern is inherited. It is a system of government that has existed on the island, with a short break during World War II, for nearly 350 years.
This description and discussion concentrate on just a few aspects of a system of governance and administration that may seem surprisingly intricate, for such a small place. Intricate when viewed from the top down, as an outsider.
Sark is one of the group of islands known as "The Channel Islands", located 20 miles off the coast of France. Although seen to be British, Sark is neither a part of the United Kingdom or Great Britain nor a member or associate member of the European Union. The British Government shoulders the feudal responsibility of the British Sovereign for the defence of Sark, for foreign affairs and has ultimate responsibility for law and order. Otherwise Sark is truly independent and the people of Sark look after the day-to-day affairs of their island.
Unique in Europe, Sark has the feudal system of governance. In essence, the Seigneur of the Island (the Lord of the Manor) holds the fief (the whole island) from the English monarch, in perpetuity. The fief is divided into 40 tenements (land holdings) held in perpetual tenure from the Seigneur. The holders of the tenements all have a right (given in the Reform (Sark) Law, 1951) to a seat in Chief Pleas (the Island Government). In addition, islanders vote for 12 Deputies who sit in Chief Pleas. Chief Pleas is the Seigneur’s Court of Chief Pleas, where he has the right to sit and speak on any subject discussed at any meeting and has the power of veto over Sark Ordinances. The present Seigneur has not exercised this power of veto during his tenure, although his predecessors have used it. Being a tenement owner the Seigneur also has a vote in Chief Pleas. The Seigneur appoints the officers of the Island Court and the Treasurer and acts as the titular head.
The Island has four paid officers:
The Seneschal: the Judge/Magistrate and President of Chief Pleas
The Prévôt: the Sheriff of the Seneschal’s Court and of Chief Pleas
The Greffier: the Clerk to the Court and to Chief Pleas
The Treasurer: who is responsible for general revenue and expenditure
There is a Secretary and a Tourism Officer, but no other paid civil servants. All other official positions are undertaken on a voluntary basis, including those of the Constable who has civil as well as police duties and the Vingtenier (Junior Constable).
The resident population is about 600, boosted to around 1,000 in the summer as a result of visitors and seasonal employment in the hotels and driving horse-drawn carriages. There is no restriction on immigration – anyone can move to the Island. In practice, only those with secured employment or income earned from elsewhere move to the Island, because there is no Welfare State to support those who cannot pay their own way.
Residents are taxed on their perceived capital, sometimes referred to as a "Visible Wealth Tax". Tax demands are modest, amounting to an average of less than £200 per Islander. Most of the revenue raised goes to help "the poor". Income is not taxed.
A landing fee paid by boat passengers and the Impôt (a levy on alcohol and tobacco) funds "public services" (for want of a more appropriate name).
There is no National Health Service and residents pay for their health-care by membership of an insurance scheme. Chief Pleas provide a doctor’s house and surgery free of charge and pay the doctor a retaining fee. The doctor dispenses the medicines and makes a charge on patients for consultation.
There are three schools on the Island with teachers’ salaries paid by Chief Pleas, providing schooling from age 5 to 15.
The only motorised vehicles allowed on the Island are tractors, which are limited in number and size, and electric invalid carriages. Travel around the Island is on foot, bicycle and horse drawn carriages (tractors are not permitted to carry passengers). As a result of keeping fast moving or heavy vehicles off the lanes the cost of maintenance is kept down to around £20,000 per annum. The lanes are constructed from stone, with no binding such as tarmac or cement, and are maintained by Islanders on contract to Chief Pleas during winter months (water is an essential part of this kind of construction).
There is no mains water or drainage, both of which are the responsibility of individual householders. Mains electricity, which is expensive compared with England, is provided by the Sark Electricity Company with its power station. Solar powered energy is common for domestic purposes.
Tenement holders sublet individual land holdings on which the majority of houses are built. Since 1976 new house building has been restricted to individuals who have been resident on the Island for at least 15 years and only persons with similar residential qualifications can occupy these houses. There are therefore two housing markets, an open market and a local market. In theory this overcomes the problems experienced in rural England as a result of incomers pushing up house prices, in practice the human and financial resources to build houses for young Islanders are hard to come by.
The Island culture and values of Sark residents are subtly different from those of the UK and its residents. This is an inevitable consequence of fundamentally different legal and government systems. Clameur de Haro is an example. This enables anyone to stop someone else doing anything he or she considers to be an infringement of his or her rights. At the scene he or she must, in front of witnesses, recite the Lord's prayer in French and cry out "Haro, Haro, Haro! A mon aide mon Prince, on me fait tort". All actions must then cease until the matter is heard by the Seneschal’s Court.