Chose (pronounced: /ʃoʊz/, French for "thing") is a term used in common law tradition to refer to rights in property, specifically a combined bundle of rights.[1] A chose is the enforcement right which a party possesses in an object. The use of chose extends from the English use of French within the courts.[2] In English and commonwealth law, all personal things fall into one of two categories, either choses in action or choses in possession.[3] English law uses chose to refer to a bundle of rights, traditionally relating to property which may be utilised in certain circumstances. Thus, a chose in action refers to a bundle of personal rights which can only be enforced or claimed by a chose-holder bringing an action through the court to enforce the action. In English law, this category is enormously wide.[4] This is contrasted with a chose in possession which is a bundle of rights which can be enforced or acquired by taking physical possession of the object. This may be, for example, a legal mortgage.[5] Both choses in possession and choses in action represent separate proprietary interests. What differs between each is the method in which each chose may be enforced. This is dependent on the possessory nature of the reference object.[6]
Alternative, historical uses include a chose local, a thing annexed to a place, such as a mill; and a chose transitory, something movable that can be carried from place to place.[citation needed]