Volume 3 issue 1 May 2015
The Invisible Fence: An Exploration of Potential Conflict between the Right to Roam and the Right to Exclude
Judith Perle
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Does land ownership require an absolute right to exclude? Or can freedom of movement coexist with the interests of landowners? Whose interests should be paramount? By attempting to answer these questions, the paper shows why a right to roam is of interest to more than a handful of enthusiastic hikers. After outlining Locke and Mill’s key theories of property, the paper describes the way traditional British property relations changed in the 18th and 19th centuries. It compares the Countryside & Rights Of Way Act 2000 in England and Wales with the Scottish, American and Scandinavian jurisdictions. The paper ends by looking at the current revival of interest in the commons, and visits the city to demonstrate that opposition to the creeping privatisation of public land has much in common with country-lovers’ call for wider access rights. Both concern the balance between individual rights and the common good.
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