The Indycamp: demonstrating access to land and access to justice

In late 2015, a camp was set up in the vicinity of the Scottish Parliament, on landbelonging to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. What became known as the ‘Indycamp’ comprised a collection of tents, motor vehicles, caravans and trailers, along with the campaigners who brought these items themselves. The campaigners - the (self-styled) Sovereign Indigenous Peoples of Scotland - had hoped to remain there until Scotland became independent from the rest of the United Kingdom. However, court action brought by the landowner in the Court of Session resulted in an order to remove the camp. Following an unsuccessful reclaiming motion against that order,1 the Indycamp was cleared on 4 November 2016. The legal process to clear the camp raised some interesting points of law, primarily in relation to access to land, demonstrations, and access to justice. This note considers these issues in turn.