Chief Justice Rupert Jones ruled in 2024 that St Helena’s government-owned land is not immune to acquisition through long-term occupation. The Supreme Court decision in Francis v Attorney General of St Helena [2024] SHSC 6 rejected the Crown’s argument that state property cannot be claimed by private individuals. It was the first time the island's highest court addressed this specific legal gap.
The dispute hinges on four industrial units—240, 241, 242, and 249—located near the former dairy associated with Napoleon Bonaparte’s exile residence. Francis, the claimant, entered a lease for units 240 and 242 in March 1995 but also occupied 241 and later 249 in 2006. He argued that 15 years of open, peaceful, and uninterrupted possession allowed him to claim ownership under section 135 of the Registered Land Ordinance 1980.
The Crown pushed back, citing the Saint Helena Act 1833. This 19th-century law transferred the island's assets to the British Crown, and the government argued that allowing private seizure would violate the constitutional framework established by section 112. Francis’s lawyers countered with a historical map from the National Archives in London. They claimed the land was used commercially by the East India Company by 1830, meaning it never truly became Crown property.
The historical debate was ultimately moot. The Privy Council did not need to decide whether the land was officially Crown property to resolve the core legal question of whether such land can be acquired. The court focused on the mechanics of the Registered Land Ordinance. Francis’s legal team argued that the 1833 Act did not explicitly prohibit the transfer of title through adverse possession, a gap in the legislation that the government failed to close.
The ruling leaves the final determination of Francis’s specific title to a separate proceeding. The Crown will now have to litigate the individual circumstances of his occupation, including whether his possession was truly without permission. This precedent opens the door for other long-term occupants of government land on the island to make similar claims, potentially destabilizing the current property register.