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 wild animals (ferae naturae) or abandoned property (res derelictae). Finding can also be a means of occupatio (i.e. vesting ownership), since a thing completely lost or abandoned is res nullius, and therefore belonged to the first taker.[5] Specific legislation may be made, e.g. for beachcombing.

  1. ^ Adolf Berger, entry on res nullius, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law (American Philological Society, 1953, 1991), p. 679.
  2. ^ Johnston. The International Law of Fisheries. 1987. p 309.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference ejil-org-16-1-289 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ W. W Buckland, A Manual of Roman Private Law (Cambridge University Press, 1939), p. 138.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference CathEnc-8-Rom-law was invoked but never defined (see the help page).