View source for Udal law

{{short description|Legal system of Shetland and Orkney}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Other uses|Udal (disambiguation){{!}}Udal}}

'''Udal law''' is a [[Norsemen|Norse]]-derived [[legal system]], found in [[Shetland]] and [[Orkney]] in [[Scotland]], and in [[Manx law]]<ref>[http://ariadne.uio.no/colmed/z-psan95.htm Collegium Medievale 8.1 (1995, publ. 1996), 5-49] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623082011/http://ariadne.uio.no/colmed/z-psan95.htm |date=2007-06-23 }}</ref> in the [[Isle of Man]]. It is closely related to [[Odelsrett]]; both terms are from [[Proto-Germanic]] [[Odal (rune)|*''Ōþalan'']], meaning "heritage; inheritance".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.charles-tait.co.uk/guide/orkguide/pages/udal_law.html|title=Orkney Guide Book: Udal Law|website=www.charles-tait.co.uk|access-date=2020-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510163053/http://www.charles-tait.co.uk/guide/orkguide/pages/udal_law.html|archive-date=2020-05-10|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
Udal law was codified by the Norwegian kings [[Magnus I of Norway|Magnus I]] and [[Magnus VI]]. The [[Treaty of Perth]] transferred the [[Outer Hebrides]] and [[Isle of Man]] to [[Scots law]], while Norse law and rule still applied for [[Shetland]] and [[Orkney]].

The [[courts of Scotland]] have intermittently acknowledged the supremacy of udal law in property cases up to the present day. Major differences from Scots law include shore ownership rights, important for [[Pipeline transport|pipeline]]s and buried [[electrical cable|cable]]s.

Udal law generally holds sway in Shetland and Orkney, along with [[Scots law]].

==Description==
Not all land in Shetland and Orkney can be described as falling under udal tenure. The type of tenure depends on how the title arose:<ref name="L32ROS"/>

#Unwritten udal title, while rare, does exist, for udal law did not require written title deeds.
#Recorded udal titles, as entered in the [[Sasine Register]], provide proof by [[Custom (law)|prescription]] for the purposes of the [[Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973]].<ref>{{cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1973 |chapter=52 |act=Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973}}</ref>
#Some udal proprietors resigned their lands to [[the Crown]] in exchange for a grant of feudal title to the ''[[dominium utile]]'', thus removing the land from udal law.
#Where some [[Feu (land tenure)|feu disposition]]s arose in quasi-feudal circumstances, such as sales under the [[right to buy]] legislation with respect to [[council house]]s, the terms of the relevant deed will govern which tenure applies.

The udal tenant held without charter by uninterrupted possession on payment to the Crown, the [[Kirk (word)|kirk]], or a grantee from the Crown of a [[tribute]] called skat ({{langx|no|skatt}}), now meaning "tax". This is cognate with the English term [[Scot and lot|scot]], which referred to a similar payment), or without such payment, the latter right being more strictly the udal right. They were convertible into [[Feu (land tenure)|feu]]s at the option of the udallers.<ref>{{EB1911 |inline=1 |wstitle=Udal |volume=27 |page=556}}</ref> [[Succession law]] had unique traits, as the eldest son inherited the father's main residence, while the rest of the property was shared among siblings, daughters inheriting half as much as sons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.charles-tait.co.uk/guide/udal_law.html |title=Udal law |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=2002 |website=charles-tait.co.uk |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060210015314/http://www.charles-tait.co.uk/guide/udal_law.html |archive-date=10 February 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Several significant aspects of udal law are not seen elsewhere in the UK:

#While in the rest of Britain ownership of land extends only to the [[high water mark]] (where the Crown is deemed to own what lies below it), in Orkney and Shetland it extends to the [[lowest astronomical tide]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.udallaw.com/ |title=Wake Up Scotland! |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website=udallaw.com |publisher=Shetland & Orkney Udal Law Group |access-date=2004-12-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050123154951/http://udallaw.com/ |archive-date=2005-01-23 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dundee.ac.uk/geography/s008.pdf |title= Research Summary: Udal law and coastal property ownership |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=2002 |publisher=[[University of Dundee]] |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050224005623/http://www.dundee.ac.uk/geography/s008.pdf |archive-date=24 February 2005 }}</ref> This caused complications during the development of the [[North Sea oil]]fields, for builders of [[pipeline transport|pipelines]] needed permission from the foreshore owners in order to proceed with their work.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Norse landing |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/norse-landing-1-547117 |newspaper=[[The Scotsman]] |date=22 February 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603024733/http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/norse-landing-1-547117 |archive-date=3 June 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Under the [[Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012]],<ref>''Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012'', [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2012/5/contents/enacted 2012 asp 5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410191611/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2012/5/contents/enacted |date=2017-04-10 }}</ref> entry of title onto the [[Registers of Scotland|Land Register of Scotland]] must include a [[cadastre|cadastral plan]],<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.ros.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/11386/General_Guidance_CM_water_boundaries.pdf|title= The cadastral map{{em dash}}the land register and land covered by water|author= <!--Not stated-->|date= 17 June 2016|publisher= [[Registers of Scotland]]|access-date= 16 March 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170317233426/https://www.ros.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/11386/General_Guidance_CM_water_boundaries.pdf|archive-date= 17 March 2017|url-status= dead}}</ref> but the foreshore on such plans needs only to be drawn at the mean low water mark of ordinary spring tides.<ref name="ULOS">{{cite web |url=https://rosdev.atlassian.net/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=74548536 |title=Udal Law and the Foreshore in Orkney & Shetland |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=13 March 2017 |publisher=[[Registers of Scotland]] |access-date=16 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317144349/https://rosdev.atlassian.net/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=74548536 |archive-date=17 March 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Where udal title exists, an appropriate note must be inserted on the plan to indicate that title extends to the lowest ebb.<ref name="ULOS"/>
#[[Swan]]s, which are the property of the Crown elsewhere in the UK, are the property of the people in Orkney and Shetland.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Sir Peter's taste for swan has him fall foul of law |url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/sir-peter-s-taste-for-swan-has-him-fall-foul-of-law-1-740320 |newspaper=[[The Scotsman]] |date=19 March 2005 |access-date=December 11, 2024 |archive-date=25 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160725172726/http://www.scotsman.com/news/sir-peter-s-taste-for-swan-has-him-fall-foul-of-law-1-740320 }}</ref>

==Modern land reform==
The [[Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000]] extinguished any remaining obligations to pay skat (ignoring whatever vestigial or forgotten laws not in effect), effective 28 November 2004.<ref name="L32ROS">{{cite web |url=https://rosdev.atlassian.net/wiki/display/2ARM/Udal+Tenure |title=Legal Manual - L32: Udal Tenure |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=21 July 2015 |publisher=[[Registers of Scotland]] |access-date=7 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418045606/https://rosdev.atlassian.net/wiki/display/2ARM/Udal+Tenure |archive-date=18 April 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 (as amended by the [[Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003]]) provides that, as of 1 April 2003, first registration will be required on any transfer of an interest in udal tenure that had not previously been entered in the [[Registers of Scotland|Land Register]], as real rights can only be obtained by registration.<ref name="L32ROS"/>

==See also==
* [[Norn language]]
* [[Allodial title]]
* [[Ancient Norwegian property laws]]
* [[Odal (rune)]]

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |editor-last= Chisholm|editor-first= J.|last=Drever |first=W. P. |date=1900 |title=Green's Encyclopaedia of the Law of Scotland|volume=XIII|pages=28–38|chapter=Udal Law |chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/greensencyclopae13chis/page/n39|location=Edinburgh |publisher=William Green & Sons }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Drever |first1=W. P. |date=1904 |title=Udal Law and the Foreshore |url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/jure16&div=16&id=&page= |journal=The Juridical Review |volume=16 |pages=189 }}{{subscription required}}
* {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Michael R. H. |date=1996 |title=Shetland's Northern Links: Language & History |chapter=Perceptions of Udal Law in Orkney and Shetland |chapter-url=https://ssns.org.uk/resources/Documents/Books/ShetlandNL_1996/14_Jones_ShetlandNL_1996_pp_186-204.pdf |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Scottish Society for Northern Studies |pages=186–204 |isbn=0-95059949-2 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181017001847/https://ssns.org.uk/resources/Documents/Books/ShetlandNL_1996/14_Jones_ShetlandNL_1996_pp_186-204.pdf|archive-date=17 October 2018}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Linklater |first=Eileen |date=2002 |title=Udal Law – Past, Present and Future? |type=LLB (Hons) |publisher=[[University of Strathclyde]] |url=http://www.udallaw.com/downloads/dissertation.pdf }}
* {{cite journal |last=Ryder |first=Jane |date=1988 |title=Udal Law: An Introduction |url=http://ssns.org.uk/resources/Documents/NorthernStudies/Vol25/Ryder_1988_Vol_25_pp_1_20.pdf |journal=Northern Studies |publisher=Scottish Society for Northern Studies |location=Edinburgh |volume=25 |pages=1–20 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181017042950/http://ssns.org.uk/resources/Documents/NorthernStudies/Vol25/Ryder_1988_Vol_25_pp_1_20.pdf|archive-date=17 October 2018|url-status= dead}}
* {{cite BAILII |litigants=Lord Advocate v University of Aberdeen & Budge |link= |court=ScotCS |scotcase=IH |year=1963 |num=1 |reporter=SC |firstpage=533 |parallelcite=1963 SLT 361 |date=2 August 1963}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |url= http://www.orcadian.co.uk/archive/udallaw.htm|title= What is the future for udal law?|last1= Anderson|first1= Richard N. M.|date= 2001|website= orcadian.co.uk|publisher= Orcadian News Archives|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110614014856/http://www.orcadian.co.uk/archive/udallaw.htm|archive-date= 14 June 2011|url-status= dead}}

{{Scandinavian Scotland|state=autocollapse}}
{{Scotland topics}}

[[Category:Scots law]]
[[Category:Scottish coast and countryside]]
[[Category:Orkney]]
[[Category:Shetland]]
[[Category:Legal codes]]
[[Category:Law of the Isle of Man| ]]
[[Category:Scandinavian Scotland]]
[[Category:Medieval Scots law]]