大学 考研 笔记 教案 法律与语言苏格兰历史上遗留的记号.docx

大学 考研 笔记 教案 法律与语言苏格兰历史上遗留的记号.docx

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大学考研笔记教案法律与语言苏格兰历史上遗留的记号

LawsandLanguages:

SomeHistoricalNotesfromScotland

HectorL.MacQueen

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IwouldliketobeginbythankingtheIusCommuneResearchSchoolforagenerousinvitationtomyScottishcolleaguesandmetoattendthismeetinginUtrecht.Theopportunitytojoinyouonthisoccasionisanextremelywelcomeone,andIhopethatitmaybeabasisuponwhichfutureco-operationandcollaborationbetweenuswillgrow.SofarastheScotsareconcerned,thisisafurtherrenewalofthelinksthathavelongboundourcountrytotheLowCountriesinmattersoflaw.Itiswellknown,Ithink,thattheselinkswereprobablyattheirstrongestintheseventeenthandearlyeighteenthcenturies,whengenerationsofScottishstudentsmadetheirwaytothelawschoolsofLeidenandUtrecht,leadingtoamajorRoman-DutchinfluenceonthedevelopmentofScotslawinthatperiod.Butsuchlinksdoinfacthavealongerhistorystill;whentheUniversityofLouvainwasfoundedin1425,ScotswereamongstitsearlieststudentsandtheirranksincludeanumberoffigureswhichweretoplayamajorroleinScottishlawandgovernmentinthefifteenthcentury.GoingstillfurtherbackintotheMiddleAges,wecanfindextensivesettlementfromFlandersoccurringintwelfth-andthirteenth-centuryScotland:

muchofitmercantileinnatureandsoextremelyimportantineast-coastScottishtownssuchasBerwick,DundeeandAberdeen,butalsoincludingasignificantfeudalormilitarydimensioninareassuchasClydesdaleinthesouthandMorayandGariochinthenorth-east.Thisexplainswhytothisday‘Fleming’remainsacommonScottishsurname,althoughitdoesnotexplainafourteenth-centurycharterofThomasearlofMarinfavourofhisfaithfulandbelovedclerkJohnofMar,canonofAberdeen,givinghimlandsinGarioch‘withallitsrightfulcustomsandjustpertinentsetc,togetherwithlegeFlemingawhichiscalled“Fleminglauch”.’

Thissuggeststhataslateasthemid-fourteenthcenturytherestillsurvivedinnorth-eastScotlandacommunitywithsufficientlydistinctivelocaltraitsorcustomstobeidentifiedasFlemish.Atpresent,however,thereseemsnowaytotellwhatthesetraitsorcustomsmayhavebeen,orwhattheymayhavecontributedtothedevelopmentofScotslaw.However,sometracesofLowCountrylinksmayhavebeenleftintheScotslanguage,wordssuchas‘golf’,‘scone’,‘croon’（singsoftly）,‘dowp’（buttocks）,‘pinkie’（littlefinger）,‘redd’（tidyup）,‘mutch’（woman’scap）,‘loun’（rogue,lad）,‘callant’（lad）and‘bucht’（sheep-pen）apparentlyhavingbeenborrowedfromDutchatdifferenttimesbefore1600.

ItwasthoughtaboutthesemedievalmattersandtheconnectionsbetweentheLowCountriesandScotlandinthedevelopmentoftheiuscommune,oldandnew,thatfirstprovidedmewiththethemeIwishtodevelopalittletoday.ThethoughtswerefurtherreinforcedafewweeksagointheappropriatesettingofMaastrichtwhenIwasamemberofapanelofabouttenpersons,sixofwhomwereGermans,threeDutchandone（me）aScot;yetourlanguageforthepurposesofthepanelwasEnglish,anissueaboutwhichIwasreproached-quiterightly-laterintheconferencewhendiscussingthemeaningoftheword‘principles’.ThatinturnbroughttomindadebatethathasoccasionallysurfacedintheproceedingsoftheCommissiononEuropeanContractLaw,wherethelanguageisgenerallyEnglishbutFrenchisalsoofficiallyallowed.Howfarisacommonlanguageaprerequisiteofacommonlaw?

Ifso,howfardoesthechoiceoflanguagethendictatethesubstantiveoutcomeoftherulestobethecommonlaw?

Scotlandmaynotappeartobethemostobviousplaceinwhichtostartsuchadiscussion;therichlinguisticcomplexitiesoftheLowCountries,andtheintensepoliticalandlegaldebatestowhichtheygiverise,mightseemmuchmorelikelytoprovefertileterritoryforexploration.YetScotlandisnotsomonoglotasmightbethoughtfromadistance.CertainlyEnglishisthedominantlanguageofpublicandprivatediscourse,buttheScotsvernacular,springingultimatelyfromtheOldorMiddleEnglishoftheAnglo-Saxonswhowerepenetratingsouth-eastScotlandfromtheseventhcenturyon,hasagoodclaimtobesomethingmorethanavariantordialectofstandardmodernEnglish,intermsofbothvocabularyandsyntax,evenbeforeonebeginstotakeitsregionaldifferencesintoaccount.ThenthereisGaelic,thelanguageoftheHighlandsandIslands,nowmostlyconfinedtotheWesternIslesasafirsttonguebutalsoenjoyingsomethingofarevivalincitiessuchasEdinburghandGlasgow（thereisaGaelic-speakingplaygroupnearwhereIlive）.Finally,therearethediverselanguagesoftheimmigrantcommunities,inparticularUrdu.Sometimesthelanguages,ortheirsupporters,comeintopoliticalconflictreminiscentofthelatemedieval‘FlytingofDunbarandKennedie’（alivelyexchangeoflinguisticabuseacrosstheScots/Gaelicdivide）.Forexample,ScottishNationalistPartyproposalsforaGaelicLanguageBill,imposinguponpublicbodiesinScotlandadutytoprepare,publishandimplementaGaelicLanguagePlan,werefollowedrecentlybycomplaintsfromaScottishParliamentcross-partygroupontheScotslanguage,that‘therearepeople,includingMSPs,whospeakverydisparaginglyaboutbothScotsandGaelic,butScotsinparticular.’Gaelic（butnotScotsasdistinctfromstandardEnglish）isoneoftheofficiallanguagesoftheScottishParliament,andadebateona‘ProgrammeofActionforScotsandGaelicintheEuropeanYearofLanguages’wasconductedwithsomecontributions（includingtheMinisterialresponse）inthelattertongueon7September2000.

InDecember1993andagaininApril1994Scottishjudgesmadeheadlinesandgeneratednewspapercorrespondencecolumncontroversybythreateningtoholdaccusedpersonsguiltyofcontemptofcourtforusingtheword‘aye’ratherthan‘yes’whenseekingtoansweraquestionintheaffirmative.InparticularSheriffIrvineSmith,whohasawell-earnedreputationasalegalhistorianandalsoasasuperbspeakeratBurnssuppersandotherpost-prandialoccasions,isreportedtohaveadvisedonehaplessindividualthattheword‘ay’inScotsmeans‘always’ratherthan‘yes’.Rightlyorwrongly,itappearsthatingeneralthelanguageofHerMajesty’scourtsinScotlandistobetheQueen’sEnglish.Thisisborneoutbyotherrecentcaselaw:

in1982and1985,forexample,accusedpersonsweredeniedtherighttobetriedinGaelicwithaninterpreter,wheneachwasalsoabletospeakinEnglish.Wemaynotethat,exceptionally,theScottishLandCourtmustbystatuteincludeatleastoneGaelicspeakeramongstitsmembers.InJuly2001theSheriffPrincipalofGrampian,HighlandandIslands,inspiredbytherecentUKratificationoftheEuropeanCharterforRegionalorMinorityLanguages,laiddownthatthesheriffcourtsinStornowayandLochmaddyintheWesternIsles,andPortreeinSkye,wouldallowpartylitigantstoaddressthecourt,orwitnessestogiveevidence,inGaelicincivil（butnotcriminal）proceedings,providedthatnoticeoftwoweekswasgiven（toallowfortheprovisionofaninterpreter）.Sheriffsmight,however,vetotherighttospeakinGaeliciftheyconsideredthatotherwisetheproperadministrationofjusticewouldbehampered.Ofcoursetheremayalwaysbeadashoflawyers’Latin（orcodemixing,aslinguisticdiscoursewouldhaveit）tobringlinguisticvarietyincourtproceedingsandinlegalwritingandteaching;althoughinJune2001theAppealCourtoftheHighCourtofJusticiaryhadtoconsideraclaimthatuseofthemaximomniariteetsolemniteractapraesumunturinproceedingsarisingfromtheeleven-timesrepeatedfailureofanindividualknownasRobbiethePicttopaythetollexigibletocrosstheSkyeBridgeinfringedRobbie’srighttoafairtrialunderArticle6oftheEuropeanConventiononHumanRights.Thecourtrejectedtheargument,presentedbyRobbieinperson,thathewasentitledtohavetheproceedingsconductedinalanguagethathecouldunderstand,because‘itwasclearfromtheappellant’spresentationofhisargumentthathedidfullyunderstandthemaxim’.

Wethereforeseemratherfarinmodernpracticefromthelinguisticdiversity（or,revertingtotheterminologyoflinguistics,languagecontact）which,asIshallnowargue,characterisedthepracticeoflawasitbecamethecommonlaw-oriuscommune-ofthemedievalkingdomoftheScots.ThedevelopmentofScottishcommonlawbeganinthetwelfthcentury,andfromthestartitslanguageofrecordwasLatin.Thelawcentredonland,andthechartersandotherdocumentswhichrecordedgrantsandtransfersoflandweregenerallyinLatin,althoughovertimedocumentsinScotsbecamemorecommon.Onlyin1847didstatuteprovidethathenceforthCrownwritswouldbeinEnglishratherthanLatin.The‘brieves’orwritswithwhichmanyformsofprocessbeforethemedievalcourtswerecommencedwerealsoinLatin,asweretheearliestrecordsofthecourtsthemselves.Theassizes,statutesandotherlegislativeactsofthetwelfthtothefourteenthcenturieshaveallcomedowntousinLatin,althoughitneedstobeborneinmindthatthesurvivingmanuscriptsinwhichtheyarerecordedareallofsignificantlylaterdatethanthematerialitselfandmaynotthereforereflectabsolutelyfaithfully