Original Acquisition of Ownership Flashcards
what is Ownership
- It’s conceptually elusive in terms of a definitive definition
- May be defined in respect of the powers of ownership
- May be defined in respect of the enforcement of the rights of ownership in court
- Possession can ripen into ownership through usucapio
what is derivative ownership
When someone acquires ownership of a thing as the previous owner has transferred or ‘conveyed’ it to him
what is original acquisition
when a person acquires ownership of a thing without deriving title from any previous owner
what are the two main cases in which a thing could have been unowned in roman law
- Might never have been owned, e.g. a wild animal
- Might have once been owned and then abandoned by the owner
in roman law, when does abandoned property become ownerless
when the owner intended be rid of the property
what is required in possession
- Possession required in law a degree of physical control
- and also an intention to possess on the part of the person exerting physical control
what is Exception to the rule of Occupatio (original acquisition)
wild things, once possesses, may still be owned by the possessor if the wild things leave, but are in the habit of coming back
when does accessio occur
when an ‘accessory’ thing becomes attached to a ‘principal’ thing
what occurs when an ‘accessory’ thing becomes attached to a ‘principal’ thing
the accessory ‘accedes’ to the principal, and the owner of the principal becomes the owner of the accessory
what is the key test that Romans used related to identity
‘If the identity of one thing (accessory) is merged and lost in the identity of another (principal) the owner of the principal is owner of the whole’
what is the test we talk about in modern day Scotland in regards to Accesio
Functional subordination
Attachment must be inseparable for accession to take place
it will depend on the extent to which there is a permanent physical attachment of the thing
