Market overt or ''marché ouvert'' (

Law French Law French ( nrf, Louai Français, enm, Lawe Frensch) is an archaic language originally based on Old Norman and Anglo-Norman, but increasingly influenced by Parisian French and, later, English. It was used in the law courts of England, be ...

for "open market") is an English legal concept originating in mediaeval times governing subsequent ownership of stolen goods. The rule was abolished in England and Wales but it is still good law in some common law jurisdictions such as Hong Kong and

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. In general, the sale of stolen goods does not convey effective title (''see

Nemo dat quod non habet ''Nemo dat quod non habet'', literally meaning "no one can give what they do not have", is a legal rule, sometimes called the ''nemo dat'' rule, that states that the purchase of a possession from someone who has no ownership right to it also den ...

''). However, under 'marché ouvert', if goods were openly sold in designated

markets Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: * Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand * Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, a ...

between sunrise and sunset, provenance could not be questioned and effective title of ownership was obtained. The law originated centuries ago when people did not travel much; if the victim of a theft did not bother to look in his local market on market day—the only place where the goods were likely to be—he was not being suitably diligent. The Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1994, whose sole purpose was to abolish Market Overt and its equivalent in Wales, took effect in January 1995. One designated market was

Bermondsey Market Bermondsey Market (also known as New Caledonian Market and Bermondsey Square Antiques Market) is an antiques market at Bermondsey Square on Tower Bridge Road in Bermondsey, south London, England. The location was formerly the site of Bermondsey A ...

south London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

. A relatively recent case of stolen goods sold there was in the early 1990s when several portraits by well-known eighteenth-century portrait painters, stolen from

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, each sold for less than £100 from an outside stall. Since they had been sold in 'market overt', the purchaser could keep them. To quote Minister for the Arts

Estelle Morris Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, (born 17 June 1952), is a British politician and life peer who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2001 to 2002. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) ...

in July 2003 during the Second Reading of the ''Dealing In Cultural Objects (Offences) Bill'': :I did not have information about marché ouvert in the deep recesses of my mind, but experts reliably inform me that it no longer exists. The hon. Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Randall) will be surprised to learn that it has been abolished only recently. It used to exist in designated markets, including Bermondsey. I am sure that the promoter will be interested in telling the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (

Simon Hughes Sir Simon Henry Ward Hughes (born 17 May 1951) is a former British politician. He is now the Chancellor of London South Bank University, an External Adviser to The Open University, and UK Strategic Adviser to Talgo. Hughes was Deputy Leader ...

) about that. In it, items could be sold . Believe it or not, in this land of ours, people could sell stolen—my officials put "dodgy" in brackets, but we do not use that term—objects. I assure hon. Members that it has been abolished. I hope that that deals with the fears of the hon. Member for Uxbridge.

References

External links

Speech of Lord Renton in ''Hansard''
at the second reading of the Sale Of Goods (Amendment) Bill in the House of Lords, 12 January 1994, ''Hansard'' vol. 551

References

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Further reading