Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2015
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316017814.002
Abstract
One of the enduring mysteries about property is why the law protects both ownership and possession. In a pre-modern world, with low rates of literacy and no formal method of registering titles, one can understand why the law would protect possession. In such a world, there may be no concept of property beyond the understanding that persons should respect possessory rights established by others. It is less clear why possession should be protected once property comes to be understood as ownership. Ownership and possession will commonly overlap, and protecting ownership will protect possession. Nevertheless, even in the most sophisticated legal systems, where digital records and title registries protect ownership, possession continues to be legally protected independently of ownership. The objective of this chapter is to explain the persistence of this dual nature of property law, whereby the law protects both ownership and possession.
Disciplines
Law | Property Law and Real Estate
Recommended Citation
Thomas W. Merrill,
Ownership and Possession,
Law and Economics of Possession, Yun-chien Chang (Ed.), Cambridge University Press
(2015).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/4336
Comments
This material has been published in "Law and Economics of Possession", edited by Yun-chien Chang. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution or re-use.