Parker v. The Lord Advocate [1902] ScotLR 39_537 (18 March 1902)

Parker v. The Lord Advocate [1902] ScotLR 39_537 (18 March 1902)

The Crown’s right to mussel scalps on the foreshore and bed of the estuary of the Clyde is patrimonial and proprietary, not held in trust for the public. The Crown may exclude the public and grant exclusive rights by lease or disposition. The pursuers failed to establish any legal basis for reduction of the decree in absence, as the law and precedent confirm the Crown’s exclusive right, and recent legislation does not derogate from this right.

Citation
[1902] ScotLR 39_537
Parties
Pursuers and Reclaimers: Maurice Parker, James Campbell, Thomas Bonnar; Defender and Respondent: The Lord Advocate (on behalf of the Crown, Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues, and Board of Trade)
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Judgment Date
18 March 1902
Procedural Posture
Action of Reduction (challenge to Decree in Absence) / Inner House, First Division, Court of Session – Reclaiming Motion (appeal) Against Lord Ordinary’s Interlocutor
Outcome
Reclaiming motion refused; interlocutor of Lord Ordinary adhered to; defender assoilzied (absolved) from conclusions of the action.
Legal Topics
Crown Property Rights, Mussel Fishing Rights, Foreshore and Seabed Ownership, Exclusion of Public From Fisheries, Statutory Interpretation, Reduction of Decree in Absence
Property Law Public Law Administrative Law Crown Property Rights Mussel Fishing Rights Foreshore and Seabed Ownership Exclusion of Public From Fisheries Statutory Interpretation +1 more

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Parties

Maurice Parker, James Campbell, Thomas Bonnar

Pursuers and Reclaimers

The Lord Advocate (on behalf of the Crown, Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues, and Board of Trade)

Defender and Respondent

Procedural Posture

Action of Reduction (challenge to Decree in Absence) / Inner House, First Division, Court of Session – Reclaiming Motion (appeal) Against Lord Ordinary’s Interlocutor

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Crown holds a patrimonial (proprietary) right in mussel scalps on the foreshore and bed of the estuary of the Clyde
  2. 2 Whether the public has a right to take mussels from such scalps as a matter of common right
  3. 3 Whether the Crown may exclude the public and grant exclusive rights by lease or disposition

Ratio Decidendi

The Crown’s right to mussel scalps on the foreshore and bed of the estuary of the Clyde is patrimonial and proprietary, not held in trust for the public. The Crown may exclude the public and grant exclusive rights by lease or disposition. The pursuers failed to establish any legal basis for reduction of the decree in absence, as the law and precedent confirm the Crown’s exclusive right, and recent legislation does not derogate from this right.

Court Disposition

Reclaiming motion refused; interlocutor of Lord Ordinary adhered to; defender assoilzied (absolved) from conclusions of the action.

Orders

  • The Lord Ordinary’s interlocutor is adhered to.
  • The defender is assoilzied from the conclusions of the action.