''Res nullius'' is a term of
Roman law
Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I.
Roman law also den ...
meaning "things belonging to no one"; 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)''.
[ However, in ]ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
, 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
means "dominion; control; ownership".
Use in legal Latin
is used in some phrases and maxims in legal Latin:
*Dominium directum – Direct ownership, that is control of the property, but not necessarily with right to its utilization or alienati ...
''. 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.[ Specific legislation may be made, e.g. for ]beachcombing
Beachcombing is an activity that consists of an individual "combing" (or searching) the beach and the intertidal zone, looking for things of value, interest or utility. A beachcomber is a person who participates in the activity of beachcombing ...
.
Scope
Wild animals
In common law
Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
legal systems, forest laws, and game laws have specified which animals are ''res nullius'' and when they become someone's property. Wild animals are regarded as ''res nullius'', and as not being the subject of private property
Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...
until reduced into possession by being killed or captured (see, e.g. '' Pierson v. Post''):
: A bird in the hand is owned; a bird in the bush is not.
Even bees do not become property until hived.[ An exception in the ]United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
is the mute swan
The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home to ...
: 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
A treasure trove is an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the he ...
, for which specific law applies, generally making it Crown property; and some types of shipwreck
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...
, such as flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict.
Modern public international law
A concept derived from ''res nullius'' by allegory is ''terra nullius
''Terra nullius'' (, plural ''terrae nullius'') is a Latin expression meaning " nobody's land".
Since the nineteenth century it has occasionally been used in international law as a principle to justify claims that territory may be acquired ...
''.[ Using it, a ]state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
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 scramble for Africa
The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...
). The concept was applied even where there were indigenous peoples residing in what Europeans considered newly discovered land, as in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.[ It was also used by English colonists in ]Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, based on similar grounds to those used in the Americas and Australia: in the early stages of the Munster Plantation it was argued that much of Ireland was ''res nullius'' as the Gaelic Irish were "not thrifty, and civil and human creatures, but rather savage and brute beasts." (Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...
) Much of the native population had been killed during the Desmond Rebellions
The Desmond Rebellions occurred in 1569–1573 and 1579–1583 in the Irish province of Munster. They were rebellions by the Earl of Desmond, the head of the FitzGerald dynasty in Munster, and his followers, the Geraldines and their allies, ...
, and Irish land use was seen as inefficient, based mostly on pastoralism
Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anim ...
; thus, land could be claimed as ''res nullius'' and planted with English, Welsh and Scottish colonists. It was also used with regard to plantation of the Ards Peninsula
The Ards Peninsula () is a peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the north-east coast of Ireland. It separates Strangford Lough from the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel of the Irish Sea. Towns and villages on t ...
.
See also
* Unowned property
References
Roman law
International law
Property law
Legal rules with Latin names
{{international-law-stub