7. Acquiring Ownership

Abstract

This chapter discusses the acquisition of ownership in Roman law. It covers derivative modes of acquiring ownership; original modes of acquiring ownership; and gifts. The methods of acquiring ownership inter vivos can be classified in a number of ways. For example, some methods can be described in modern civilian systems as ‘original’—where the acquisition of ownership did not depend on there being a prior owner—whereas others were derivative, i.e. where ownership was derived from a prior owner. Or some methods were formal, others causal: in the former case ownership passed because of the use of particular form and ceremony, whereas in the latter case ownership depended on the ground or ‘cause’ of the acquisition.