means "dominion; control; ownership". It 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 alienation. For example, a holder in life tenure has ''dominium directum'' but not ''
dominium utile'', because he may control the property but not exhaust its resources. This is to be distinguished from
allodial right or
fee simple
In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., perm ...
(
dominium plenum) and the right retained by the grantor of the
life estate who holds the rights to the utilization of the land's resources (''dominium utile'').
*
Dominium directum et utile ''Dominium directum et utile'' is a legal Latin term used to refer to the two separate estates in land that a fief was split into under feudal land tenure. This system is more commonly known as ''duplex dominium'' or double domain. This can be contr ...
– The complete and absolute dominion in property; the union of the title and the exclusive use. Equivalent in nature to ''
dominium plenum'' or ''
fee simple
In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., perm ...
''.
* – The right of
eminent domain.
* . – Ownership cannot be held in suspense/; property cannot float in an uncertainty.
* – Full or complete ownership of an estate; "
fee simple
In English law, a fee simple or fee simple absolute is an estate in land, a form of freehold ownership. A "fee" is a vested, inheritable, present possessory interest in land. A "fee simple" is real property held without limit of time (i.e., perm ...
".
*
Dominium utile – Beneficial ownership of an estate. A holder of the reversion of a
life estate holds the ''dominium utile'' of the property (although not the control or ''dominium directum'') because he has the right to the long-term utilization any resources (mineral, vegetative, etc.) on the property but not to the immediate use of the property–the holder of the life estate has control of the property.
*
Duorum in solidum dominium vel possessio esse non potest Duorum in solidum dominium vel possessio esse non potest is Latin legal term meaning "Sole ownership or possession cannot be in two persons" / "Two persons cannot own or possess a thing in the entirety."
It is a variation of a more popular Latin le ...
– Sole ownership or possession cannot be in two persons.
In general, "utilization" of resources on the property is subject to a reasonableness test. A life tenant with ''dominium directum'' of an estate may make reasonable use of resources, which means roughly renewable or trivial usage: the culling of firewood in the midst of an expansive forest, or the extraction of coal sufficient for home use from a fecund mine. Any commercialization (e.g. selling rights to the coal shaft) or large-scale exploitation (raising extensive erections on the estate using the timber resources) will implicate the ''dominium utile'' reserved to the holder in reversion and be subject to legal action at common law.
See also
* (Dutch)
* (Latin)
References
{{reflist
Property law