The Barclay brothers have said they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights after the High Court rejected their claim that state recognition of feudal positions in Sark breaches human rights.
New legislation will give Sark, a “crown dependency”, an elected legislature for the first time. However, the unelected feudal positions of Seigneur and Seneschal will not be abolished. The first is an heredity “lord” who leases the island from the British head of state. The Seneschal is the chief civil and criminal judge who also presides over the parliament.
The Barclay brothers own a fifth of the island’s land and have substantial business interests in Britain, including conservative publications. They both use the feudal title of “knight”.
Sark is a “crown dependency” in the English Channel.