A challenge to the Crown.
On 25th March Stuart Hill is set to challenge the authority of the Crown in Shetland by taking the matter to court.
Mr. Hill said “The personal matter involved could have been settled without going to court. However, one of the responses open to me is: ‘I intend to challenge the jurisdiction of the court’. Anyone familiar with my work over the past five years will know that I could not pass up such an opportunity. I am intending to mount a serious challenge to the jurisdiction of the court – action that has probably never before been taken.
Shetland’s unique history is littered with examples of abuse by earls, bishops and the Crown itself. I have uncovered a trail of deception and dirty deals that have been found necessary to support the officially accepted position. My research leads me to some inescapable conclusions, amongst which are that the Crown has never acquired the ownership of Shetland necessary to impose Scots law here. I would not be true to my principals if I avoided this issue”.
Mr. Hill says he hopes that the action he is taking on 25th March will lead to an honest evaluation of Shetland’s position. He said: “What I am doing is a small action that throws into doubt Shetland’s officially accepted relationship with Scotland, the UK and Europe. It could undermine the Crown Estates right to the seabed in Shetland. It could question the UK government’s legitimacy in licensing oil companies to extract oil from around Shetland’s shores and it could leave Shetland free of the EU - free to determine its own destiny without asking permission from Holyrood, London or Brussels. Ultimately I hope my action will benefit the UK as a whole”.