''Rei vindicatio'' is a legal action by which the
plaintiff
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of t ...
demands that the
defendant return a thing that belongs to the plaintiff. It may be used only when the plaintiff owns the thing, and the defendant has wrongly claimed or assumed possession of the same thing, and is currently impeding the plaintiff's possession of the thing.
[ (reprinted in 1991)] The term originated in
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
.
The plaintiff could also institute an ''actio furti'' (a personal action) to punish the defendant. If the thing could not be recovered, the plaintiff could claim damages from the defendant with the aid of the ''condictio furtiva'' (a personal action). With the aid of the ''actio legis Aquiliae'' (a personal action), the plaintiff could claim damages from the defendant.
''Rei vindicatio'' was derived from the
ius civile
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justin ...
, and therefore was available only to Roman citizens.
Specification of the thing
The function of ''rei vindicatio'' remains the same in most modern legal systems as it was in ancient Rome. However,
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...
was much more particular about the specification of the "thing". A plaintiff could not have won a case without specifying the thing in question.
At a theoretical level, Roman
jurists identified three kinds of "thing":
* ''Corpus unitum''
* ''Corpus coniunctum''
* ''Corpus ex distantibus'' was not a single thing, but a bundle of independent things, such as a herd of cattle. Cattle were so important in Roman society that Roman jurists developed the regulation on cattle on a full scale. ''Corpus ex distantibus'' was the most disputed of the three.
Greek influence on Roman legal thought
Two law schools in Rome, the
Sabinian school and the
Proculian school, remained influential from the late
Republic throughout the
classical period. Most modern
Romanists consider these schools to be influenced to some extent by
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empi ...
. They say that the Sabinian school was the student of
Stoicism, while the Proculian school followed
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
or
Peripateticism
The Peripatetic school was a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece. Its teachings derived from its founder, Aristotle (384–322 BC), and ''peripatetic'' is an adjective ascribed to his followers.
The school dates from around 335 BC when Ari ...
. Greek influence is especially evident in classical Roman thinking on accession and specification. Sabinians, following Stoicism, argued that in these areas ''
hyle'' ‘substance’ supersedes ''
eidos
Eidos may refer to:
* Eidos (philosophy), a Greek term meaning "form" "essence", "type" or "species". See Plato's theory of forms and Aristotle's theory of universals
* Eidos plc, a British software company, which created video game publisher Eido ...
'' ‘form’. Proculians countered that ''eidos'' is the decisive factor for a fate of a thing.
See also
*
Replevin
*
Trover
Trover () is a form of lawsuit in common-law countries for recovery of damages for wrongful taking of personal property. Trover belongs to a series of remedies for such wrongful taking, its distinctive feature being recovery only for the value ...
*
Detinue
In tort law, detinue () is an action to recover for the wrongful taking of personal property. It is initiated by an individual who claims to have a greater right to their immediate possession than the current possessor. For an action in detinue ...
*
Conversion (law)
Conversion is an intentional tort consisting of "taking with the intent of exercising over the chattel an ownership inconsistent with the real owner's right of possession". In England & Wales, it is a tort of strict liability. Its equivalents in ...
*
Bailment
Bailment is a legal relationship in common law, where the owner transfers physical possession of personal property ("chattel") for a time, but retains ownership. The owner who surrenders custody to a property is called the "bailor" and the ind ...
*
In rem
''In rem'' jurisdiction ("power about or against 'the thing) is a legal term describing the power a court may exercise over property (either real or personal) or a "status" against a person over whom the court does not have ''in personam'' jurisd ...
*
Bona fide purchaser
A ''bona fide'' purchaser (BFP)referred to more completely as a ''bona fide'' purchaser for value without notice is a term used predominantly in common law jurisdictions in the law of real property and personal property to refer to an innocent ...
References
Roman law
nl:Rei vindicatio
{{Latin-legal-phrase-stub