Res nullius
Res nullius is a term of Roman law meaning "things belonging to no one";[1][2] that is, property not yet the object of rights of any specific subject. A person can assume ownership of res nullius simply by taking possession of it (occupatio).[3] However, in ancient Rome, certain forms of res nullius could never be owned (res extra commercium) because they were considered to belong either in common to all or to the divine rather than human dominium.[4] The use of res nullius as a legal concept continues in modern civil legal systems.
Examples of res nullius are
Scope
Wild animals
In
- A bird in the hand is owned; a bird in the bush is not.
Even bees do not become property until hived.[6] An exception in the United Kingdom is the mute swan: The U.K. Monarch retains the right to assert ownership of unmarked mute swans, which he currently does on stretches of the Thames and its tributaries.
Likewise in common law systems, abandoned things are generally the property of the owner of the land in which they are found. Exceptions include treasure trove, for which specific law applies, generally making it Crown property; and some types of shipwreck, such as flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict.
Modern public international law
A concept derived from res nullius by allegory is terra nullius.[7] Using it, a state may assert control of an unclaimed territory by occupying it.
This terra nullius principle was used to justify colonization of much of the world, as exemplified in the competition for influence within Africa by the European powers (see the
See also
References
- ^ Adolf Berger, entry on res nullius, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law (American Philological Society, 1953, 1991), p. 679.
- ^ Johnston. The International Law of Fisheries. 1987. p 309.
- ^ "Argument from Roman law in current international law: Occupation and acquisitive prescription" (PDF).
- ^ W. W Buckland, A Manual of Roman Private Law (Cambridge University Press, 1939), p. 138.
- ^ Kelly, Joseph (1910). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Game laws". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 440. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Benton, Lauren; Straumann, Benjamin. Acquiring Empire by Law: From Roman doctrine to early modern European practice. p. 2.
- ^
Nicholas, Barry (1962). An Introduction to Roman Law. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. p. 132. OCLC 877760.
- ISBN 978-0-19-154201-5– via Google Books.
- ISBN 9781908011565– via Google Books.
- S2CID 163236073– via Cambridge University Press.