Francis v Attorney General of St Helena for and on behalf of the Crown (St Helena)

Facts

In July 2023 Mr Francis applied to the Registrar of Lands of St Helena under section 139 of the Registered Land Ordinance 1980 to have the Land Register rectified. He claimed that he had acquired ownership by prescription under section 135 of the Registered Land Ordinance 1980, which allows ownership to be acquired through 15 years' peaceable, open and uninterrupted possession. The land was registered as Crown land. Mr Francis said it was part of the former dairy of Longwood House, Napoleon's residence. The Crown objected that Crown land could not be acquired by prescription, although it had previously accepted that it could. In February 2024 the Registrar stated a case under section 146 of the Registered Land Ordinance 1980, asking whether Crown land can be acquired by prescription. Chief Justice Rupert Jones answered yes. The Court of Appeal accepted, as he had, that section 31 of the Constitution did not bar prescription. However, it allowed the Attorney General's appeal on the second ground and answered no. It assumed that section 112 of the Saint Helena Act 1833 had conferred an interest in the land on the Crown, and held that the savings provision in section 159 of the Registered Land Ordinance 1980 protected that interest from prescription. The Court of Appeal gave Mr Francis permission to appeal to the Board on three grounds. First, it was wrong to hold that section 159 prevents prescription of Crown land acquired by statute. Second, it was wrong to conclude that section 112 transferred the disputed land to the Crown. Third, it wrongly held that it could not consider the record of legislative proceedings on the Ordinance.