Landmark Cases in Property Law

Landmark Cases in Property Law explores the development of basic principles of property law in leading UK cases. Each paper considers a case on land, personal property, or intangibles, discussing what that case contributes to the dominant themes of UK property jurisprudence: How are property rights acquired? What is the content of property rights? What are the limits or boundaries of property? How are property rights extinguished? Individually and collectively, the papers identify a number of important themes for the doctrinal development of property institutions and their broader justification. These themes include: the obscure and incremental development of seemingly foundational principles, the role of instrumentalism in property reasoning, the influence of the law of tort on the scope of property doctrines, and the impact of Roman legal reasoning on the common law of property. One or more of these themes is revealed through careful case analysis in each paper, and they are collected and critically explored in the editors' introduction. This makes for a coherent and provocative collection, and it will be essential reading for scholars, practitioners, and all those interested in the development of legal property principles. (Series: Landmark Cases) [Subject: Property Law]