''Res nullius'' is a doctrine.
[Johnston. The International Law of Fisheries. 1987]
p 309
The expression "res nullius" (lit: ''nobody's thing'') is a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
term derived from private
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 (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...
whereby ''res'' (an object in the legal sense, anything that can be owned, even a slave, but not a subject in law such as a citizen, nor land) is not yet the object of rights of any specific subject. Such items are considered ownerless property and are free to be acquired by means of ''
occupatio
''Occupatio'' (occupation) was an original method of acquiring ownership of un-owned property (''res nullius'') by occupying with intent to own.
Roman legal writings on acquisition by ''occupatio''
Nicholas argues this is the "archetype" of a ...
''.
[ Its use as a legal concept continues in modern ]civilian
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...
legal systems.
Examples of ''res nullius'' in the socio-economic sphere are wild animals
Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...
(''ferae naturae'') or abandoned property ('' res derelictae''). Finding can also be a means of occupation (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
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
legal systems, forest laws, and game laws
Game laws are statutes which regulate the right to pursue and take or kill certain kinds of fish and wild animal ( game). Their scope can include the following: restricting the days to harvest fish or game, restricting the number of animals per p ...
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 legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property and personal property, which is owned by a state entity, and from collective or ...
until reduced into possession by being killed or captured (see, e.g. ''Pierson v. Post
''Pierson v. Post'' is an early American legal case from the State of New York that later became a foundational case in the field of property law. Decided in 1805, the case involved an incident that took place in 1802 at an uninhabited beach ne ...
''):
: 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
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 Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...
: 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 hei ...
, for which specific law applies, generally making it Crown property; and some types of shipwreck:
:
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".
It was a principle sometimes used in international law to justify claims that territory may be acquired by a state's occupation of it.
:
:
...
''.[ Using it, a ]state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
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, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of Africa, colonization of most of Africa by seven Western Europe, Western European powers during a ...
). 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 Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.[
]
See also
*Unowned property
Unowned property includes tangible, physical things that are capable of being reduced to being property owned by a person but are not owned by anyone. ' (Latin for "ownerless goods") is a legal concept associated with the unowned property, which e ...
References
Roman law
International law
Property law
Legal rules with Latin names
{{international-law-stub